When You Hit the Ground
by ndchick
Summary: It's late July 1992 and the attentions of the citizens of Springfield are absorbed with the US Senate campaigns and helping the "victims" of the infamous blackout. Scandalous accusations lead to new loves found, blackmail schemes, and old enemies resurfacing. Life in Springfield will never be the same. Blake/Ross, Bauers, Thorpes, Marlers, and Spauldings, oh my!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I LOVE Guiding Light and started to watch with my Grandmother in 1992, when I was 12. Blake and Ross were just starting out their story together and I fell in love with BLOSS. I've often thought about what could or would happen to these two back when I was sitting in my Algebra class and supposed to be taking notes!

This fic takes off in an alternate reality in 1992 after the "Victims of the Blackout" Benefit Ball (the night before Blake and Ross were caught by Holly). This will be a Ross and Blake love story, taking a different turn from what actually happened during Ross's Senate Campaign. Some Ed, Maureen, Michelle, Lillian, Roger, and Holly thrown in for good measure. And maybe a few special appearances by some old characters from the past (1970's).

*****Late July, 1992*****

_Chapter 1_

The screaming sirens from the ambulance pulling up to the doors of the ER at Cedars Hospital tore through the calming silence of a typical midnight shift at Springfield's only hospital. Lillian Raines dashed to the door to help the paramedics transport their patient to a curtained area just off the main waiting room.

"25 year old female, car accident, laceration on the face, but no other signs of trauma. She may have hit her head on the dash. Victim was may have been unconscious for a short period of time at the scene, but was coherent on the ride over." The paramedic spoke dispassionately as he wheeled the patient into the ER. He doubted this patient had a true need for medical attention, but as the passenger in a minor car accident involving the state's Senator, he wasn't taking any chances by releasing at the scene without ER treatment.

"Second victim, the driver, is on his way in an ambo behind me. No apparent trauma, but the good folks at Springfield PD want him checked out…just to be sure."

"Blake!" exclaimed Lillian, as she looked down to her patient after taking her pulse. "What happened?"

Blake Thorpe turned her head to the bubbly middle age nurse that her stepfather seemed so fond of. "Car accident. Not so bad, we just hit a car that stopped short in front of us. It just happened so suddenly, bashed my face on the dashboard. Leo should hire a car service. I don't think he's used to driving himself, spending all that time in DC. Or maybe it was the champagne at the fundraiser ball," Blake gave a throaty laugh, rolled her eye up and smirked. "What are you doing here? I thought I saw you at Towers earlier this evening?"

Lillian made a mental note to run some blood work on Leo Flynn, when he came in, then answered, "I had a midnight shift, covering for one of the nurses who went to the fundraiser with her new boyfriend. I left the ball a couple of hours ago."

"Oh," Blake responded. "Yeah, the crowd was thinning out a bit by the time we left."

"How are you feeling? We'll get the plastic surgeon down to stich up the cut on your face, so it doesn't scar. Are you in any pain?"

Blake was sure that Lillian's agreeable attitude towards her was a testament to her nurses training and not because she was actually cared one whit about Blake. As the person who kept secret information concerning Lillian's not so dead daughter's return, Blake was sure Lillian downright despised her.

"I'm fine, just a little headache." Blake gestured to her temple, where the barely noticeable cut was bandaged.

"OK. Let's get your vitals taken and I'll just draw some blood for the lab."

"Bloodwork? Why?" Blake asked.

"Just standard procedure when you come into the ER. Nothing to worry about." Lillian proceeded to take Blake's temperature, blood pressure, and drew two vials of blood. "Okay dear, all done. You just lay back and get some rest. Dr. Young will be down in a moment to get you stitched up and you can be on your way home. Did you want me to call Holly to come get you?"

"Um, yeah, if you could. Though I'm not sure she'll be all that excited to come get me. I was kind of a bitch to her at Towers tonight." Blake bit her lip and tried to give Lillian a small smile to take the edge off the awkwardness of her last statement.

Lillian nodded and closed the curtain around Blake's bed. She looked up and saw the second ambulance bringing in Senator Leo Flynn through the doors. Leo was not Lillian's favorite person in the world, given that he tried to railroad her son-in-law Phillip for the murder of Neil Everest.

She'd be more than happy to take Leo's blood work and make sure that they tested his blood alcohol level. Somehow, she thought Blake's offhand mention of the champagne tonight at the ball was not just for conversation.

Even knowing Blake's tendency for scheming, she gladly give in to the girl's manipulation, this time, if it meant a scandal for Leo Flynn's senate campaign. Lillian did pause to wonder why Blake would want Leo to be taken down, given her father's endorsement of the man and hatred for Leo's competitor, Ross Marler.

Shrugging, she proceeded to bring Leo into a private exam room and began taking his vitals.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"Blake! Are you alright! I was so worried when Lillian called and told me that you were in the hospital. I made Ross drive me right over," Holly spoke without taking a breath as she rushed past the privacy curtain to see her daughter.

"Mom! I'm fine, just a little cut, all stitched up. You didn't have to come all the way down here." Blake takes the brief hug that her mother gave her and glances over Holly's shoulder to see Ross Marler sheepishly hovering by the curtain.

"Blake, your mother was worried about you," Ross rubbed his hand over his mouth and chin. "Lillian said you were in a car accident. You weren't driving drunk, were you?" Ross's voice trembled ever so slightly, that no one but Blake could hear the worry in his question.

"No, Mr. District Attorney," Blake sassed, a little put off by his seeming concern for her, given their previous conversation at his house the night before.

Before Blake could explain further, two of Springfield's finest walked by the curtained area, led by none other than Leo Flynn, in handcuffs. "Senator Flynn, you are being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. You have the right to remain silent…" The police officer reading the Miranda rights led Leo Flynn out the ambulance bay door in to an awaiting squad car, complete with blue and red flashing lights.

"What in the world!" exclaimed Holly.

As she was turned to look at the spectacle happening in the no longer quiet ER waiting room, Ross mouthed to Blake, "You didn't?"

Blake responded with a well-timed smirk and a "who, me?" gesture. "I guess Leo had more to drink tonight than he thought. Mom, you really should catch this story for the morning news. Senator Flynn caught driving while drunk? And getting in a car accident with a young woman in his car. It's gonna be a _scandal_."

Holly turned back to Blake. "Blake, you were with him? While he was driving drunk? What were you thinking? I can't believe you could be so reckless, so irresponsible, so…"

"…so _inappropriate_? It's what I'm best at," Blake finished with a quick glance to Ross, goading him with his own words and trying to judge his reaction to the incident.

"Blake, what your mother means is that you need to be more careful. She's worried about you," Ross spoke, ending the mother-daughter squabble, knowing Holly didn't know about the other times Blake herself had tried and sometime succeeded in driving herself home while drunk.

"_She's_ worried about me?" Blake questioned. Holly seemed too distracted by the need to "get the story" while showing appropriate concern to her injured daughter to catch on to the subtext of the current conversation.

"Blake," Ross began, but was interrupted by the arrival of Ed and Maureen Bauer.

"Oh, Blake, Lillian called, we were so worried, even though she said you weren't injured very badly," Maureen gushed, rushing in to give Blake a tight, bear hug. Blake sunk into the warm hug, closing her eyes and enjoying the motherly attentions of the Bauer matriarch.

Ross's fingers twitched, trying not to give in to the urge to take Blake into _his_ arms and offer her similar, albeit not "motherly" comfort that Maureen was providing. Before the phone call from Lillian, Ross and Holly were deeply involved in a conversation regarding the status of their "relationship".

After seeing Blake's depressed state at Holly's house before the ball and her well-concealed look of hurt when none but Ed and Frank bid on her during the auction, Ross made up his mind to make Holly realize once and for all that they would _not_ be getting back together.

The phone rang as Ross was about to leave the house to go find Blake and apologize to her for the hurt that he had caused the previous night when he had rejected her advances. He just hadn't known how to deal with his growing feelings for his young lover and her surprise dinner at his house that night hadn't helped matters. Hearing from Holly that Blake was in the hospital set his heart beating in panic.

"Blake, were glad you're okay," Ed interrupted Ross's thoughts as he picked up Blake's chart and walked over to her. "I'd like to keep you overnight…"

"Why?" Holly interrupted, "she said she's okay, just a small cut."

"Just a precaution. The ambulance driver said you hit your head and possibly blacked out for a minute?" Ed probed.

Blake nodded her head. "I can't really remember. I was wasn't buckled in," Holly spun her head around, looking at Blake, exasperated. Blake continued, "and then we just hit the car in front of us. We weren't going very fast, but I banged my head on the dashboard and then I remember the ambulance being there."

"So, I'll be back to pick you up in the morning. _After_ the morning news broadcast," Holly clipped, clearly irritated by Blake's use of her little girl voice when talking to Ed. She added, a little softer, "I'll bring you some clothes from the house. Ross, can you drive me home?"

"Actually, Holly, I'll need to be looking into the drunk driving charges for Leo Flynn. Clearly, I can't prosecute, so I'll need to get one of my assistant DAs up to speed on the events of tonight," Ross reasoned.

"Oh, Holly, I can give you a ride home. It's on the way!" Maureen cheerily offered. "Bye sweetie, I hope you're feeling better in the morning," she leaned over and hugged Blake again, kissing her on the cheek.

"Um, thanks Maureen," Holly responded, clearly disappointed that Ross would not be taking her home, despite their conversation regarding their relationship earlier that evening. "Okay, bye Blake, see you in the morning," Holly waved at her daughter and walked out of the curtained area.

Ed flipped Blake's chart closed and hung it on the edge of the bed. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check some lab work. I'll be back in a few minutes to see if we can get you a private room for the night. Ed walked passed Ross, nodded, and closed the curtain, knowing his friend would likely need to question Blake about the accident.

"Blake," Ross admonished in a whisper and came closer to the bed, now that they were alone. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking, counselor, that it would be nice to use my _scandalous_ reputation for good instead of evil," Blake laughed wickedly and continued in an innocent little girl voice, "I mean, who would have thought that Senator Flynn would _ever_ get in a car and drive after drinking _so_ many glasses of Champaign tonight? And with a young tart, no less. It will cause quite the scandal in the Flynn campaign, don't you think?"

Ross rubbed his face, frustrated. "Blake, why do you do these things? I don't understand you at all."

"Seriously, Ross. I just began to notice how much Flynn was drinking and an idea came to me. After he seemed so disappointed after Mom offered me up to him to drive me home, I just went with the flow. Flirted a little, gave him a little more Champaign, and asked him to take me home. Who could resist?" She questioned Ross, a knowing smile on her face as she thought about the times Ross resisted her at first and then gave in.

"You could have been seriously hurt and I don't know what I would do if you…" Ross trailed off.

"If I what, Ross?"

"I…" Ross started and stuttered, "I...if…if you we seriously injured, I'd be very, very worried."

"Very, very worried?" she repeated.

"Yes, Blake…I…I've come to care for you…quite a bit…lately, and I…just don't want to see you hurting. What I said to you the other night, it hurt you. I didn't mean to, it's just, this damned campaign, and Holly, and Springfield..."

"You're going to blame _Springfield_, the whole town, for what you said to me?" Blake interrupted.

"Blake, that's beside the point. I was coming back to find you, just before Lillian called your mother's house. I wanted to apologize for what I said. I was an idiot, but these feelings I have…grown to have for you…they scare the crap out of me."

Blake's laughter caused Ross to look up from where he was staring at his shoes, trying to eloquently think of what to say without messing it up again. He started at Blake with his mouth slightly opened in a questioning look.

"Ross Marler said _crap_." Blake finally got out in between laughs.

"Blake, please, I'm trying to be serious here."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Go on," Blake said with mock sympathy.

"Well, what I was trying to say was…"

"Okay Blake, we've got you a room on the third floor," Ed unintentionally interrupted. "Ross, you can meet us up there to continue speaking to Blake about the accident. Room 305. I need to speak to Blake alone about something first."

Ross nodded and backed out of the curtained area intent on finding a phone and some coffee to calm his nerves, knowing it would be a long night, dealing with Leo Flynn's arrest and dealing with Blake.

"So Ed," Blake said, still giggling slightly. "Tell me the truth, I'm dying aren't I?" She smirked up at her former stepfather.

Ed rolled his eyes at her little girl antics. When it was just the two of them, it almost seemed like the 20 years had not passed them by and they were back to time when she was just a little girl, living under his roof, smiling, happy, and calling him daddy.

"No Blake, you're not dying, but your lab work came back. Did you know that you're pregnant?"

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_***Earlier that evening***_

Blake tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, impatient at the car that was taking a Sunday Stroll in front of her. "Oh, come on! Drive a little faster, ugh!"

Blake's frustration was at an all-time high. She was pissed off and rightly so. The good Senatorial Candidate Marler had asked her mother to go to the fundraiser ball, right in front of her! The cad! She really couldn't believe he did that, although, after what he said last night, she shouldn't be surprised. 'But really,' Blake thought to herself, 'he said he has no interest in starting things up again with Holly. So why did he have to ask _her_ of all people. Did he do it just to hurt me?'

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Blake pulled her car into the shopping center, intending to buy exactly two items…ice cream and booze. She'd have herself a little party at home this evening…and wallow. Yes, wallowing. She hadn't had a good pity party since, well…since Alan-Michael fired her. Her skinny dipping performance at the country club pool didn't count, especially because she hadn't been _that_ drunk, and it was all for the benefit of snagging the attentions of Ross Marler anyway.

Striding into the drugstore, she snagged a relatively decent bottle of wine, and proceeded to the back of the store where the freezers were. Cutting down the feminine hygiene and birth control isle made her giggle a bit, thinking of the men that would have to pass by the massive selection of pads, tampons, and pregnancy tests to get at the condom section, right smack dab in the middle of the isle. The store manager was definitely a woman. Intending to open the freezer at the end of the isle to get at the double-dutch chocolate ice cream, Blake froze in her tracks.

"Oh, shit," she realized. It had been a while, a _long_ while, since she had had use for any feminine hygiene products. Like, before the blackout, long while. It had been such a crazy month, she hadn't even noticed her missing period until now. Sure, they had used protection, the second time, and third, and forth and so on, but the first time…it was so frantic, so unbelievably hot, and erotic, and...Blake shook herself out of her fantasy.

Now, here she was, standing at the display of home pregnancy tests. She grabbed one off the shelf, blindly. They were all basically the same, it wasn't like this was the first time in her 25 years that she'd needed to do this. Though the first time, she'd had to figure out which one was a pregnancy test in Spanish. The pictures helped. She shuddered at the thought, Alan Spaulding's baby? Could you imagine?

Shaking off the past, she grabbed at the first tub of ice cream she saw in the freezer, made her way over to the register, dumping the bottle of wine on a random shelf. She wouldn't be needing that. Six weeks since her last period, two weeks late, it wasn't rocket science.

Blake arrived home and proceeded to shed her work clothes and get into something more comfortable. She wasn't planning on going out again that night, and besides, she still had some wallowing to do, even if it _was_ for a different reason than originally planned.

Ten minutes later, a timer beeped somewhere in the vicinity of the bathroom and Blake emerged not 15 seconds after, grabbed her container of ice cream and flopped down on the couch.

'Pregnant,' she thought. 'Wow,' was her only thought, winding repeatedly in her head. 'Wow. Wow. Wow.'

Well, she'd certainly done it now. Just think of what her mother would say when she told her she was carrying Ross Marler's _baby_.

Blake shook her head. This was _not_ in the plan. Too bad the plan went awry weeks ago. When she first intended to seduce Ross Marler back in May, she'd never in her wildest dream, ever think she'd end up here. Pregnant with Ross Marler's child.

She'd never envisioned falling for him, but he wormed his way into her heart. Worrying about her when she'd had too much to drink, talking to her about her issues with Alan-Michael, comforting her when she was lost in her lack of self-confidence. What started out as a way to get her mother back for getting her fired from Spaulding, had turned into disastrous, beautiful, heart-pounding love affair.

In a word, she was screwed. She'd grown to care for Ross, no matter what idiotic and hurtful things he had said and done in the past 24 hours. She didn't want him to lose the election because of her, because of their child. Counting out the weeks, she realized she'd be at 22 weeks, showing quite obviously, by Election Day. There'd be no hiding the pregnancy until after the election. Sure, they could pretend that Ross wasn't the father, but knowing him, he'd have a hard time hiding the truth. She'd remembered his protectiveness towards Dinah and Samantha.

Blake gave a small sign, sat back against the couch, contemplating the situation, and digging into her ice cream as Holly emerged wearing one her Blake's dresses. One that Blake herself knew she wouldn't be wearing for a very long time.

_***Cedars Hospital – that night***_

"Blake, did you hear me?" Ed asked gently, knowing that if this was the first time she'd heard of her pregnancy that it would cause her some distress. He'd let the news sink in while they transferred her up to the third floor, but now he wanted to make sure she was alright.

"Yes, Ed," Blake responded, shaking herself out of her reminiscence. "I heard you. I...I found out this afternoon."

"Blake," Ed sighed softly, "you knew and you got in the car with a driver who had been drinking?" He didn't want to admonish her, but he wished his former stepdaughter would stop being so reckless with her life, now more than ever.

"He really wasn't that drunk…enough to be arrested, for sure, but, besides, I was the one who distracted him, and I did it while we were at a light, going slow."

"You made him crash on purpose? Why?" Ed looked surprised at Blake's antics.

Blake shrugged, "I didn't want him to win the election?" She sounded as if she had come up with the reason for her actions just that second. "You don't have to tell Ross, though, do you?"

"No, it's all under doctor-patient confidentiality. Blake, tell me, truthfully, is Leo Flynn the father of your baby?"

Before Blake could respond, a soft knock sounded at the door as it opened slowly, revealing Ross Marler, sans tuxedo jacket, rumpled shirt, with his bowtie undone.

'Damn, I want that,' was Blake's first thought, almost drooling. Her second was, 'How much did he just hear?'

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ross turned his back to Blake and Ed to softly shut the door. He closed his eyes, briefly, not believing what he just heard Ed ask. Could Blake really be pregnant? Was it his? He knew she had been seen with Leo around town, but he didn't think she had slept with anybody but him recently. Though, knowing Blake and her reputation, he couldn't be sure.

Pretending to not hear, Ross spoke, "Blake, I just got off the phone with the Assistant District Attorney. He'll be taking over Leo's DUI case. You need to know, however, that Leo is trying to say that _you_ were the one who was driving the car tonight."

"What?" Blake looked at Ross, feeling a mixture of relief that he didn't seem to have heard Ed ask about the baby and lust over Ross's disheveled appearance. He looked much like he had that night, after Mindy and Nick's non-wedding, during the Blackout.

"The ADA is working on a subpoena for your blood tests. The crime scene tech found some blood on the passenger side dashboard. If it matches yours, it proves Leo is lying. His blood alcohol level was high enough to be charged with a DUI. The ADA will be coming by in the morning to get your statement."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Lillian poked her head in. "Ed, can I see you for a moment. You need to sign off on this paperwork for the subpoena."

"Excuse me for just a moment," Ed told Blake and Ross and walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Blake twisted her hands in the blanket that was covering her legs. "So…quite a night. I hope it was good for you?" She said sarcastically and flashed a toothy grin.

"Blake...," Ross said in a harsh whisper.

Blake crooked her eyebrow, prompting him to go on.

"We really need to talk."

"Talk? About what exactly? I thought we had done all the talking we needed the other night. You certainly said all that you needed to say about me."

"Blake, I want to apologize. I said some things that, in retrospect, weren't very nice or even very true." Ross moved closer to the bed, intending to sit down, and reached for Blake's hand that was still twisted up in the blanket.

Blake snatched her hand back, "No, you were right the first time. It became very clear to me tonight what this town thinks of me."

"Blake, please. Come over tomorrow night. To the carriage house. I want to talk to you where we won't have to worry about any interruptions."

"I'll think about it. Not sure that I want to go through hearing how unacceptable I am again."

Ed opened the door before Ross could reply. "Okay, now all that's taken care of, Blake, I think it's time you get some rest."

"Yes," spoke Ross, moving towards the door. "The ADA will be by around 8:00 tomorrow morning for your statement."

As the door closed, Ed looked over at Blake, "Did I interrupt something? You two looked very serious when I came in."

"No, just our usual banter." Blake smiled up at Ed, wondering what he would think if he learned about her affair with Ross. Ed was one of the few people in town who still gave her the benefit of the doubt, even though he clearly knew all of her shortcomings and faults. She didn't want to disappoint him yet again.

"Okay, you just get some rest. Unfortunately, you'll have a nurse checking on you every hour. It's standard operating procedure for head injuries. A crime scene tech already came to pick up your blood test results. Luckily, Leo has type B- blood, so all they need to do is a simple blood typing to prove you were on the passenger side. As long as the blood on the dashboard is O+, Leo will be charged with a DUI."

Blake looked up confused, "A+, you mean."

"What? No, the blood will need to match yours, O+," Ed replied.

"Yes, _my_ blood type is A+, not O+," Blake shook her head.

Ed, confused, reached over to Blake's chart at the edge of the bed and flipped it open. "A+," he spoke slowly.

"Yes, I think I'd know my own blood type," Blake laughed. "I donate blood every few months, the blood type is right on the card. Why did you think I was O+?"

Ed took a deep breath, realizing that this moment would be a turning point in all of their lives. "Roger's blood type is O+."

"Okay," Blake spoke. "But children don't have to have the same blood type as their parents. I did take high school biology."

"Your mother also has type O+ blood." Speaking slowly, Ed let that news sink in.

Blake gaped at Ed. "But…that means…that…Roger," she trailed off.

"Roger Thorpe cannot be your biological father."

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Friday, July 31, 1992_

Blake swallowed audibly. "How? I mean...they did blood tests when I was a baby. When I was sick in the hospital and needed a blood transfusion. The whole story was in the newspaper after Roger was arrested for…" Blake trailed off.

Ed stood silently. Pale. Shocked. 'Could it really be true?' He shook his head and answered her, "Yes, that's how I found out about Roger and Holly. You were dying and your mother couldn't give her blood due to a childhood illness, so she went to Roger. Only I knew, and the nurse, of course. We all kept it secret for several years until it came out before the trial."

"So how could they have gotten it wrong?" Blake asked. "Does this mean that your're my…?"

"It's possible." Ed answered. "I'm AB-. I'll have the lab run a paternity test to be sure." Ed started thinking, racking his brain to figure out how the lab could have gotten the original blood test wrong. Roger being O+ wouldn't have made a difference in the blood transfusion, so they wouldn't have seen any adverse reaction in little Christina had she been given O+ blood rather than the A+ that matched her blood type.

"I'm going to send down for your old hospital chart so we can see what might have happened. I can't recall any of the specific nurses that would have cared for you." Ed reached over to grab hold of Blake's trembling hand.

"He's going to be pissed if he finds out and a pissed off Roger Thorpe is not something anybody wants to mess with," she whispered. Blake laid her head back down on the pillow, squeezing Ed's hand back in a reassuring grip.

"Are you okay? I know this is hard news to deal with," Ed asked softly.

"I'm not sure," Blake answered honestly. "I've been dealing with the ghost of Roger Thorpe since I was sixteen. Ten years of living as the daughter of the most hated man in town takes it toll. And now, to find out that it was all a lie? That most of my life didn't have to happen they way it did?" Blake's voice cracked, "I'm not sure I'll ever be okay."

Ed gently wiped a lone tear that had made it down Blake's face. "Sixteen?" Ed questioned, "I know Holly never told you when you were a child, even after she married Roger, but she didn't tell you until you were sixteen?"

Blake huffed, "She _never_ told me. I found out by accident. I thought you were my father until then."

Ed was silent, not quite knowing what to say.

Blake rolled over on her side. "Can you give me some time alone? I just need some time to think. It's been a pretty eventful news day."

Ed nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Yes, I'll let you get some rest. Ring the call button if you need anything." He left her with another reassuring squeeze to her shoulder, walked to the door, dimmed the lights, and left. The little girl that he had raised could really be _his_ after all and he'd spent more than a decade with no contact at Holly's request.

He'd justified it in the past, thinking that she was Roger's, not his. She would have known that Roger was 'dead'. He'd told her himself after the events in Santo Domingo. Knowing that his little Christina had actually thought for most of her life that her father just didn't care enough to see her...that was something Ed thought he'd never forgive himself for.

Back in the hospital room, Blake curled in on herself. So much change in so little time. Here she was, about to become a mother in seven to eight months, and not even sure about her own parentage. She placed her hand over her still flat belly, whispering "I promise, I will be the _best_ mother to you and I will always put you first."

Blake reached to the phone and dialed a number she had memorized since she was ten. "Sara, it's me, Christina." Blake choked back a sob. "I could really use your help right about now."

_To Be Continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_May, 1988 - Mexico_

_Blake slid carefully from the tiny twin sized bed, grabbing the bottle of tequila from the nightstand and slipping out the door. Making her way a couple doors down the hallway, she entered her room, silently shutting the door. Choking back a sob, Blake took a large swig of the tequila and collapsed against the door._

_It was done. She had successfully convinced Alan Spaulding of her plan and would be making her way to Springfield. 'Revenge,' she thought, gulping down another shot, trying to steel herself for what she was about to do...for what she had just done. Here, in the dark of her tiny Mexican 'hotel' room, she'd allow herself just a minute of self-pity. As one tear, then another, began to slip down her face, Blake batted them away with a quick swipe of her hand._

"_No tears," she murmured to herself. "What's done is done." Taking a deep breath, Blake pushed herself up, making her her way to the dresser. She began packing her meager belongings into the tiny bag, taking tiny sips of the liquor. Next stop, Springfield. The town that had been responsible for the death of her father would never know what hit it._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_August 1, 1992_

"No," shouted Blake, sitting up in the hospital bed, trying to catch her breath. That damned dream again. No, not dream, memory. That horrible, horrifying memory. The events that started it all. Though, if she admitted it to herself, the plan began to take shape that day she'd found herself, age sixteen, staring at the badly photocopied news article from the Springfield Journal. Ross Marler, announcing to the world, that little Christina Bauer was, in fact, the child of Roger Thorpe and Holly Norris.

Everyone knew. Ed Bauer knew and never told her in those long months she'd spent with him and Rita while her mother was in jail. Barbara had known, never telling her, though she'd been perhaps closer to her grandmother than her own mother, living in Switzerland all those years. Adam knew, and presumably so did his wife Sara, with whom she'd spent several summer vacations with over the years. Sara McIntyre had been the only one to ever apologize for keeping her from the truth.

Now, she was learning that it was all a mistake. Roger Thorpe wasn't her father. All of those things she had done in the name of being Christina Blake Thorpe, taking revenge for the wrongdoing against Roger, were pointless. She'd defended the man, as despicable as most of his actions had been, because she was his flesh and blood. If he were a vile human being, so was she, by virtue of sharing his DNA. Self-preservation. It made her sick. Ross had called her an "awful creature" and he'd meant it at the time he'd said it. All of those awful, hurtful things she done we're her own doing, and now, she couldn't even blame it on her genes.

A quick knock sounded on the door, before Lillian's blond head poked in. "Blake, your mother dropped off some clothes on her way to WSPR. She didn't have time to come in, but I was just getting off my shift and thought I'd bring them up to you."

"Thanks, Lillian," Blake spoke softly, taking the proffered clothes, not surprised that Holly couldn't take the extra minute to bring the clothing up to her room, but a little taken aback that Lillian would take the extra time to bring them up to her. Had Ed said something to Lillian last night?

"Is Ed here?"

"Oh, he went home last night. He'll be back before you are discharged, though. Ross mentioned that the ADA was coming in at 8:00. It's 7:30. I thought you'd like to get showered and changed before he got here. I also brought some crackers and gingerale. I remember those first few months of pregnancy. I could never keep much down."

Blake stared at Lillian for a beat and replied, "Umm...thanks. I guess I really haven't had any morning sickness, but I haven't really eaten anything since the half-pint of ice cream I downed after I found out yesterday. You won't tell anybody, will you?"

"Of course not," Lillian reassured. "Nurse-patient confidentiality," she smiled and left the crackers and gingerale on the nightstand. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Lillian," Blake began. "I...I guess I never really apologized to you for the whole Beth thing. I'm starting to realize how awful some of the things I've done are. Well, I guess I always knew how awful they were, but just didn't care who I hurt, as long as I got what I wanted. Anyway...I'm sorry."

Lillian patted Blake's knee, soothingly. "Apology accepted. We all do things we'd rather forget about. Things that hurt other people, even the people we love. Sometimes I think that's what life is all about. Learning to forgive others and ourselves for our mistakes."

Blake smiled shyly, nodding her head in thanks, before taking the clothes and making her way to the bathroom to get ready.

Lillian was gone when Blake emerged from the bathroom, but a knock sounded at the door. Thinking it was the ADA, Blake called for him to come in. To her surprise, it was not the annoying assistant district attorney she'd expected, but instead in walked Samantha Marler. An all-grown up Samantha Marler, dressed in a fairly conservative, yet flattering skirt-suit.

"Blake! Uncle Ross called me last night and said that you might need an attorney this morning when you talk to the ADA about the accident last night," Samantha rambled without taking a breath. "Even though you didn't do anything wrong, it's always good to have an attorney, just in case. I mean Flynn was trying to blame this on you, but you don't need to worry, the blood tests prove that you were in the passenger seat when the accident happened and Leo's BAC was high enough that he'll be charged with a DUI."

Blake smiled, missing the energetic, rambling young girl that was around so much during her marriage to Phillip. "So you've graduated from Law School?"

"Yes, just this past May. I just found out that I passed the Bar last week!"

"Congratulations," Blake spoke sincerely and Samantha beamed back.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, you're my first client, actually," Samantha replied sheepishly.

"Well, I'm honored. Did Ross say if he was coming over with the ADA?"

"No, he's not. He said it would be a conflict of interest. He's trying to stay out of it, so that Leo's attorney can't accuse him of anything underhanded."

Blake nodded, understanding, but disappointed that she wouldn't see Ross this morning.

Just then, the door opened and ADA Jim Haggerty stepped in. "Ms. Thorpe? I'm here to take your statement about the car accident involving Senator Flynn last night."

Blake recited her side of the story to the ADA in a short, matter of fact, manner, consulting with Samantha Marler a few times before answering the ADA's questions. One question, in particular, had she been drinking and the reasons for not drinking, gave her pause, but Samantha confidently interjected that the answer was irrelevant, cutting off the ADA's line of questioning.

"Okay, that should do it. If I have any more questions, where can I find you?" Haggerty asked.

"My mother's house. Holly Lindsay," Blake replied. "If that changes, I'll let you know. She's not too happy with me at the moment."

Haggerty nodded, "Have a good day," and left the room.

"Well, that wasn't too bad. Though it looks like Leo Flynn is in for it. I suppose it's hit the news already," Samantha commented.

"I'm sure. My mother was here last night as Leo was being led out in handcuffs. I'm sure she wasted no time," Blake commented, wondering if her mother was planning on coming back to the hospital to give her a ride home like she'd planned.

Samantha, ever the helpful do-gooder, asked, "Do you need a ride home? My schedule's free for the rest of the day!"

"Umm, maybe. My mother was supposed to pick me up. I haven't been discharged yet, though."

"I can wait."

"Okay," Blake agreed. "Anyway, I'll need to get my checkbook from the house, so I can pay you for your time."

"Oh, no need, Uncle Ross said he'd pay my fee."

"Um, better not, he's trying to avoid being linked to this mess. The DA paying for a witness's lawyer? Not good PR if anyone found out."

"You're probably right," Samantha agreed.

Just then, Ed walked in, smiling at seeing the young Samantha Marler all dressed-up and his step-daughter (possibly his actual daughter) visiting. "Blake, you're all set to go, just sign-off on these discharge papers."

"Thanks, Ed. Samantha is giving me a ride home, since Holly can't be bothered."

"I didn't know you and Sam were such good friends?" Ed asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I haven't seen Blake in a few years, Law School keeps you pretty busy. Uncle Ross sent me over in case Blake needed a lawyer, you know, just in case. I passed the Bar last week. Blake is my first client!"

"Well congratulations, Samantha!" Ed exclaimed, then turned to Blake, "Why would Ross think you'd need a lawyer? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Blake shrugged. "I guess he was just looking out for me, just in case. You never know. Did you find out anything about that blood test?"

"Not yet. It may be a day or two, but I asked the lab to put a rush on it. I do have _some_ pull around here. I'll let you know the second it comes back."

"Great," Blake replied. "So I guess I'll be getting out of your hair. Thanks."

As Blake and Samantha were walking out the door, Ed turned to grasp Blake's shoulder. "We need to talk...about...everything."

"Give me some time. It's a lot to take in all at once."

Ed nodded back and let her go out the door.

_To Be Continued..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Holly's House_

_Saturday, August 1, 1992_

Samantha dropped Blake off at Holly's house, coming in for a minute, while Blake wrote her a generous check for her services. Seeing the house was free from her mother, for the moment, Blake decided to take a nap, as her sleep had been interrupted by the nurses checking for signs of concussion all night.

She was exhausted, yet her mind was racing a mile a minute. A baby...Ross's baby...Roger wasn't her father...was it Ed?...or had her mother had yet another secret lover. Blake drifted off to sleep with the fantasy of what her life would have been, had she grown up a Bauer. Would she have been a doctor, like Ed and Rick? Would she be be a respected citizen of Springfield, known for her goodness, instead of infamous for her dalliances with the Spaulding men and her scheming?

A sickening thought came to her, that Alan-Michael would be her cousin, if it was indeed true that Ed was her father. At least that love affair had ended; another blue-eyed, middle aged, successful man had taken Alan-Michael's place in her dreams. Although not conventionally handsome, Ross Marler was the whole package. His kindness, sensitivity, caring, and god, his sensuality, could take her breath away.

Blake fell asleep to those thoughts, even believing she could still smell his scent in her bed, though the sheets had been washed several times since their encounter the night of the black-out.

Holly arrived home after an eventful day at WSPR. The town was buzzing about the arrest of Senator Leo Flynn. How would it affect the campaign? Was Ross now a shoe-in for Senator? Could Leo rise from the ashes of this mistake? Springfield's local chapter of MADD, Mother's Against Drunk Driving, was already picketing city hall, calling for Leo Flynn's resignation and withdraw from the election.

Walking into her living room, Holly noted a melted, half-pint of ice cream sitting on the coffee table, as well as Blake's shoes and clothing strung across the floor in a path to her bedroom. Her baby was a mess. Thankfully, they had a maid service, or Holly would have kicked her dear daughter out long ago.

Holly made her way to the bathroom to get freshened up. Ed had called her at the station, hoping to meet with her for dinner to discuss something. He's been vague on the phone, but Holly presumed it had something to do with Blake. Blake's trail of debris continued into the bathroom. Holly grabbed a handful of used make-up sponges and dropped them in the wastebasket, spying a lone box sitting at the bottom. A pregnancy test box.

Closing her eyes and feeling a headache coming on, Holly prayed quickly that the test was negative, or at the very least it wasn't Alan-Michael's baby. That man had caused enough chaos in her daughter's life. Though the alternative was the mysterious man that Blake had been supposedly seeing, who had broken up with her recently. Perhaps that was what Ed wished to talk to her about.

After Holly made a brief stop in her bedroom for a scarf that could act as a shawl on this slightly cooler night, she made her way to the living room, seeing that Blake was awake and digging through the refrigerator.

"Blake! Good, your home. We need to talk about what happened last night."

Blake popped her head up from the fridge, holding a tub of ranch dip and grabbing bag of potato chips on her way to the kitchen table. "Mom, I really don't want to talk about it right now. Can you just leave it alone?"

"No, Blake. First of all, you tried to make a scene with me to embarrass Ross in front of all those people. And then, you get yourself in a car accident with a drunk Leo Flynn. What were you thinking? And don't for a minute think that I don't know you were up to something. I know you, dear daughter! I wouldn't be surprised if you planned that accident."

Blake continued to ignore Holly's rant, used to it. She instead focused on how good the salt and vinegar potato chips tasted with the ranch dip. 'Pregnancy craving number 1, check! At least it's not something as nasty as pickles and ice cream.'

"Mom, leave it alone. It's over, done, nothing to do about it now. Besides, you should be happy your precious Ross won't lose the election now. I bet you're just dreaming of moving with him to a little brownstone in Washington and having a happy little life away from here."

"Hardly," Holly huffed, bitter about the senatorial candidates words to her before the call from the hospital came. "Ross made it pretty clear last night that there was nothing between us."

"Sorry," Blake responded.

Holly graced her with a doubtful look.

"No, really, I am. I learned first hand how callous some men can be."

"About that, Blake. I saw the pregnancy test box in the trash. Are you?" Holly trailed off.

Blake paused, not expecting to have to get into that, with her mother, so soon. She nodded slowly.

"Oh, honey! I'm sorry. I remember how awful an unexpected pregnancy can be. Have you told the father yet? It's not Leo's is it? I mean I know you've been seen out and about with him. But then there was that boyfriend you said you've been seeing. Oh, please don't let it be Alan-Michael's. Are you sure you want to keep the baby? I mean, you're not really the motherly type."

Blake let Holly ramble, still stuck on the 'awful unexpected pregnancy' comment. It was her. She was the 'awful unexpected pregnancy'. Trying to unsuccessfully hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes (really, had she ever cried this much in such a short period of time?), Blake moved to the living room couch.

"You never really wanted me," Blake began. "You probably hated me from the moment you knew you were pregnant. Roger Thorpe's love child. If you hated the man so much, why did you ever sleep with him in the first place? And why not just leave me with Ed when you went to Switzerland? At least he wanted me. All you did was send me to grandma Barbara's and then pack me off to boarding school when I was old enough. Or send me to Grandpa Adam's when you couldn't stand to see me one more minute during the summer holidays."

"You will never know what I sacrificed for you little girl. Being married to and raped by a man I despised? I did that for you. Going to jail for murdering said bastard. I did that for you! Being dragged through the jungle? I did that for you! Marrying a man who was appealing as acid rain? I did that for you!" Holly's voice raised higher and higher until she was outright yelling.

"Ha! Jokes on you _mom_! Roger Thorpe is NOT my father!" Blake blurted with a cutting quality she knew would dig into the freshly cut wound. "So all those sacrifices you made? All for nothing! You should have aborted me when you had the chance. Then your life wouldn't have been so awful!"

"What in the world are you talking about? Of course Roger is your father. There was no one else," Holly spat back.

"Blood tests...someone changed them. I'm A+ and Ed told me that you and Roger are both O+. Ed's AB-."

"Honey, that's just not possible." Holly couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Why, you were married to Ed at the time. Don't tell me that married people don't sleep together?"

"But we weren't. We didn't. We were having some problems at the time."

"Was the problem named Roger Thorpe?"

"No, Ed was drinking. And working. Too much. There's just no way…" Holly trailed off, not believing her daughter's news.

"So if it wasn't Ed, who was it? What _other_ guy were you sleeping with? It'd be nice to know who, you know, just so I don't accidentally sleep with my brother or uncle or something."

"Blake, honey, I'm telling you the truth. Just Roger. When I found out I was pregnant, I slept with Ed, just so he'd think he was the father." Holly realized how awful something like that sounded out loud.

Blake snickered, "And you think I'm the messed up one? At least I will never regret having my child. And I will never regret who the father is."

The phone blared, breaking the silence. Blake picked it up. "Ed?...So you have them?...Yeah...Really?...Okay...yeah….I'll see you in the morning." Blake hung up the phone watching Holly stare her down, trying to discern Ed's part of the conversation.

After a long, long pause, Holly finally spoke, "Well?"

"Ed's my father," Blake said with relief and a smile.

Holly's reaction wasn't as relieved. "How? I just don't understand. It can't be possible. All this time? All this time I thought you were that monster's. My whole life has been built about that one fact. An now? It's just not true? My whole life? None of that had to happen?"

"Mom," Blake began, starting to see the crazed look Holly was starting to take on.

"NO! ALL OF IT!" Holly shouted. "THE RAPE! PRISON! SANTO DOMINGO!"

"Mom, calm down, let me call Ed, have him come over," Blake tried to calm her mother down.

"I've got to get out of here. I've got to go. I can't be here. Not here. Not in this place," Holly started mumbling to herself.

"Mom!" Blake tried to get her mother to respond to her, following her to the bedroom, where Holly proceeded to get out a suitcase and began throwing clothes in it. "Mom, you're not in your right mind, you can't go anywhere right now!"

Holly continued ignoring Blake, still mumbling to herself. Blake was starting to get very worried. She grabbed the phone to try and call Ed, but Holly ripped it out of her hands and threw it across the floor, breaking it into several pieces. "NO ED!" Holly screamed. "I don't need anyone. I just need everyone to leave me the hell alone!"

Blake backed up a few feet, for the first time, truly scared of her mother and what she might do. Blake watched in horrified silence as Holly grabbed the suitcase, walked out of the house, got in her car, and tore out of the driveway.

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Holly's House_

_Saturday, August 1, 1992_

A knocking at the back door woke Blake up from her uncomfortable position on the couch, where she had cried herself to sleep after her mother left. She didn't move, preferring to stay curled up in the soft blanket. She heard the door open slowly, but still did not look up. 'It's probably Ed', she thought.

"Blake?" She heard Ross's soft voice whisper her name. "Are you okay?" He asked, causing her to start crying, yet again.

Ross moved to slide behind Blake's back, curling his body around his young lover, offering her comfort. He guessed this may have something to do with her recent pregnancy news, but since he wasn't supposed to know yet, he just held her, letting her cry.

Blake breathed in deeply, his scent and the relaxing circles his hand was rubbing on her back helped her to calm herself. "Ross?" her voice finally cracked out.

"Talk to me," Ross whispered softly, unsure of what she would say, but knowing she needed to get it out.

"She left," Blake managed to croak through her tear choked voice. "She found out and left."

Ross's hands stilled against her back. "Holly? She found about about us?"

Blake shook her head against his chest. "No. She found out about Ed. She freaked out. I've never seed her so, so...it was so scary."

"About Ed?" Ross questioned, unsure of what, exactly, Holly had found out.

"He's my father. Not Roger. It's Ed."

Ross was unsure of how to reply, so he continued to rub Blake's back in reassuring circles. Her hands curled around his stomach to his back, holding him tightly.

"The blood test, from the accident. It was such an offhand comment. Ed said as long as it was O+, that would prove that I was in the passenger seat when I hit my head. I'm not O+, I'm A+. Roger and Holly are both O+. Ed's my father."

"Wow," Ross muttered. "That must have been some news...for both of you."

"She didn't take it well. I guess, well, I didn't mean to tell her in the way I did. She was just making me so mad. She lost it, Ross. I guess I can understand. Her whole life, well most it, centered around Roger and the mistake she made having me. I'm scared of what she might do. But I don't know where she went."

"Blake, she never thought you were a mistake."

"Yes, she did. I've always felt that. Even though she never said anything until tonight. My whole life I've felt it. She always regretted having me. I guess I don't blame her. I'm rather a sad disappointment for a daughter."

"Blake, have you ever _really _talked about this, to anyone?" The sun was setting and the room was growing dark. Ross knew from their past conversations that Blake preferred to speak in the dark. She was more open and less self-conscious.

Blake nodded her her against his chest again. "Sara," she stated.

"Sara?" Ross queried.

Mom used to send be to grandpa Adam's during the summer, when she'd have enough of me. It's weird that I never questioned it. I mean, he was my Grandpa because he was married to my grandma Barbara. But he wasn't married to her after we moved to Switzerland."

Ross realized that she was talking about Dr. Sara McIntyre, Adam Thorpe's wife and the psychiatrist that had treated his ex-wife Carrie for multiple personality disorder.

"You didn't know that Adam was Roger's father?"

"I didn't know that _Roger_ was _my_ father. Not until I was sixteen, at least."

"How? I mean, nobody told you? The whole town knew about it before the trial."

"No one bothered to let me in on the worst kept secret in Springfield. I found out when I was doing a genealogy project for school. I wrote a letter to the public library in Springfield and asked for any articles about the Bauer and Norris families. The oh so helpful librarian realized who I was and sent me all the articles about the rape, the trial, when Mom "murdered" Roger and went to jail, the incident in Santo Domingo...everything."

"Oh, Blake," Ross kissed her gently on the forehead, know how hard that must have been for a young sixteen year old to find out.

"Ironically, _you_ were the one who told me that Roger was my father. It was a quote in a newspaper article about Roger's arrest and who his lawyer was."

"I'm sorry," Ross responded, thinking about how different he was back then. A fresh faced lawyer, straight out of New York, willing to hurt anybody for the win.

"You couldn't have known. Besides, you were one of my inspirations."

Ross was puzzled, "How so?"

"When I read all the articles, the Ross Marler in my mind was this dastardly, vile excuse for a man. Defending a rapist? Saying that he had certain marital rights?"

Ross grew quiet, remembering who he was, how awful he was back then.

"But, then I met you. When I came back to Springfield. And you were this upstanding, respectable citizen. Everyone loved you. Respected you. Trusted you. You should have heard the way Phillip talked about his wonderful Uncle Ross. When they found out who I really was, I saw what people thought. I was the spawn of the devil himself. And after Roger came back from the dead, I really hoped that everyone would start to see him like they saw you. He was an ex-spy, a hero, someone to respect. I hoped they would forget about his past mistakes and stop blaming me for them."

"I guess now, you remind me that people can change. I know Roger never really did. He was up to his eyeballs in schemes the minute he stepped back in Springfield. I just got lost in that. If they thought I was the spawn of the devil, I may as well act the part and get what I want."

Blake sighed contentedly and curled up even closer to Ross, if that was possible.

"It takes time to change. I was such an ambitious bastard. Stepping on people's toes to get to the top. My ex-wife, Carrie, was who helped me change that. She was such a happy person. Full of life. Of course that was only one of her personalities, the other ones scarred the crap out of me and one almost killed me."

"She integrated the personalities rather well," Blake interjected.

Ross was taken aback.

Blake answered, "I spent the summers with Adam and Sara. Carrie moved to Oregon to be treated by Sara. She would come over on Sundays for tea."

Ross couldn't help by chuckle. "My future lover, as a child, having Sunday tea with my ex-wife and her psychiatrist. We live in a very odd world."

"I suppose it's no worse than the fact that you used to babysit me."

"It only happened once, and don't remind me."

"You're the one who brought it up the other day."

"I'm sorry about that, Blake. I was a complete and utter ass to you."

"I'm used to it," Blake shrugged. "I tend to be really good at pissing people off."

"Still, you didn't deserve what I said."

"Yes, I probably did. Nothing you said was false. I did do some pretty disturbing things in the past. Well, I guess even in the present."

"Are we going to talk about the car accident?"

"I'd rather not. Not one of my smartest moves, but it paid off, didn't it?"

"Blake, you could have been seriously injured. You had no way of knowing how drunk Leo was or how well he could handle driving a car in that condition. I could have lost you."

Blake was surprised by the level of concern she heard in his voice. She never really heard anyone but Ed sound so worried about her well-being. She shrugged her shoulders, not knowing how to respond.

"Thank you for sending Samantha over, by the way," Blake spoke, changing the subject. "She came in handy. Haggerty is such an ass. Oh, and I paid her legal fee. It would look suspicious if anyone found out that you paid her, even though she's your niece. I can't believe how grown up she is. I think WSPR has an opening in legal if she's looking for a job."

"I'll let her know. How are you feeling about learning that Ed is your father?"

"I'm not sure what I'm feeling. My head is sort of spinning from everything. On the one hand, I thought he was my father for sixteen years. He's been a better father than Roger ever was. On the other hand, he didn't even contact me for most of my childhood. Didn't even recognize me when I came back to Springfield. I know he thought he wasn't my father, but he raised me for 5 years as his daughter. That can't have meant so little to him that he just never bothered to contact me after my mother moved us to Switzerland."

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Holly told Ed to not contact you after you moved to Switzerland. It wasn't his choice. I know for a fact that he tried to send you birthday presents for several years, but they were all sent back unopened. I guess he stopped trying after a while. It hurt him deeply that Holly wouldn't allow him to be a part of your life."

"I never knew that. Why didn't he say something?"

Ross shrugged. "I'm not sure. You'd have to ask him. I know he feels a lot of guilt, especially about how you ended up coming back to Springfield."

"You mean Alan?"

"Yes. Ed wanted to kill him when he found out about Mexico."

"It's not like Alan knew who I was or anything."

"I think he strongly suspected. At least that's what Phillip thought. Alan doesn't do anything without thinking it through and knowing all the players."

"I think I'm going to be sick. The thought of Alan knowing who I actually was. He probably had some sick perverted fantasy about deflowering Roger Thorpe's daughter."

"Deflowering?" Ross stuttered.

Blake blushed a bright red, though it could not be seen in the darkness. "Umm, yeah."

"You mean Alan Spaulding was your first?"

"Yeah, though I don't think he knew or realized. I was very good at playing a role. I was too busy in college and grad school, trying to get to a place where I could put my scheme into play to take down the people that I thought had persecuted Roger Thorpe. I never really had much time for boys, though my mother thought differently."

The more and more Ross learned about his young lover, the more and more he just wanted to take her away from all of this and protect her. One might even say he was falling in love with her.

_To Be Continued..._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Holly's House_

_Sunday, August 2, 1992_

Ross woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of a door slamming. He groaned, knowing his back would pay for the night spent on the small couch, curled up with Blake. He smiled, remembering how he held her as they talked through most of the night, sharing stories of their pasts, their childhoods. Blake had been rather surprised at Ross's own burdened childhood, after his father had died.

Now Blake was gone and nowhere to be seen in the small livingroom/kitchen area. He supposed she might be outside, having heard the screen door slam. Getting up, Ross stretched out his sore back and made his way to the back patio. He spied Blake, curled up on the porch railing, sipping a cup of coffee; the light of the morning sunrise streaking through her hair, highlighting the strands of red he knew she kept mostly covered up with hair dye. She was gorgeous.

The screen door creaked as he pushed it open. Blake looked up, startled out her thoughts and gave him a shy smile. "Coffee?" She lifted up her cup to him.

"No thanks," he replied and made his way over to her, wrapping his hand around her waist. "There's one thing we didn't talk about last light, though." He spread his hands over her flat stomach.

Blake gasped, "You know?"

"I overheard you and Ed talking in the hospital room," Ross murmured against her head, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

"It's yours, I never want you to doubt that. You're the only one I've been with in a _very_ long time." Blake placed her coffee cup down on the wide railing and covered Ross's hands with her own. "I'm sorry."

Ross jerked his head back, "What on earth are you sorry for?"

"The first time we...we didn't use anything."

"It takes two to tango, as it were, Blake. You have nothing to be sorry for." Ross held her even closer, if that was even possible.

Blake inhaled his scent. God, if she could just live in a bubble of Ross for the rest of her life she could die a happy woman. "Is it weird that I'm happy? I mean, this is so _not_ what I ever expected to happen, but I just...," Blake trailed off, starting to cry, again.

"It's not weird. I'm feeling quite a mix of emotions myself. I got to an age, where I thought I'd never actually be a father, and then six years ago, I find out about Dinah and I never had the chance to know her as a child and barely as an adult. Part of me thinks this is my second chance. A chance to be a father, find love…"

"Love?" Blake questioned.

"Blake, I don't know what this is exactly, but there's something here, between us. Something I'm willing to take a chance on."

"Ross, I can't let this affect your chance to be Senator. Somehow I think an affair and a baby with with your ex-fiance's daughter might trump a DUI when it comes to the voters."

"I'm not going to deny my own child. I saw what happened with Phillip, with you. Growing up, not knowing who your real parents were, being lied to," Ross snapped.

"I'm not saying forever. Just until after the election. I don't think it would surprise anyone that Blake Thorpe was pregnant without a father in sight."

"Blake…"

"Just think about it. Don't make any rash decisions, yet. Candidates with babies out of wedlock don't make for good PR."

"So, we get married," Ross retorted.

"You're crazy!" Blake laughed.

"About you!" Ross leaned in to kiss her softly on the mouth. The kiss quickly deepened and before she knew it, Ross was lifting Blake up and carrying her back to the bedroom.

_To Be Continued..._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Holly's House_

_Sunday, August 2, 1992_

Ross woke to find the late morning sun streaming in through the cracks in the Venetian blinds. Blake's head lay across his chest and he reached up to softly stroke her brownish red hair. She snored faintly, her breath tickling his chest hairs.

Ross caught himself thinking about what their child would look like. Would he or she have his blue eyes or her green? Would their hair be red like Blake's was as a child? He was pretty sure Blake's hair was naturally curly, though she had worn it straight in the past year. His own hair tended to curl if he didn't keep it closely cropped. A vision of a curly haired green-eyed little girl with Blake's infectious smile invaded his thoughts.

Glancing around the room, he noticed the picture of Blake and Alan-Michael that he'd seen on her nightstand during the blackout was no longer there. In the same location was a small "Vote for Marler" campaign button, looking casually placed, but he knew better.

His thoughts were interrupted by a low growl coming from the vicinity of Blake's stomach. A low moan and feather-like kisses on his chest revealed that Blake had awakened.

"Hungry?" Ross questioned.

"Starving." Blake sat up and moved her left leg over his lower body, so that she was sitting astride him. "Ravenous." She leaned down to kiss him. "Insatiable." Her oral attack was interrupted as her stomach growled again, this time quite loudly.

"For food?" Ross asked between kisses.

"I could go for some food," Blake moved off of him and Ross groaned from the loss of contact.

"What time is it?" Ross looked around the room for an alarm clock. He wasn't quite sure where his watch had ended up.

"Almost noon."

"I've got a fundraiser at the Ladies Auxiliary in Clayton at two."

"Go grab a shower," Blake insisted, pulling on a tiny tank top and and a _very _short pair of cotton shorts. "I think there's the makings for pancakes in the kitchen. It'll be ready when you get out." Blake traipsed through the doorway with a smile, feeling Ross's eyes following her.

Ross groaned once more, pulling a pillow over his head for a second before getting up and heading towards the bathroom. They were playing with fire, if Holly happened to come back and catch them. He knew she needed to be told eventually, but catching him with her daughter in bed together was just adding insult to injury.

When Ross emerged from the shower, dressed in his only slightly rumpled dress slacks and light blue shirt, Blake had a stack of pancakes and a cup of coffee waiting for him on the breakfast bar.

"Smells delicious," Ross complimented and smiled.

"Told you, I'm a good cook. You should trust me more." Blake smiled back.

A knock at the door and Ed's swift entrance interrupted Ross's retort.

"Ed!" Blake exclaimed, walking around the breakfast bar to give him a hug. "I just made pancakes, do you want any? They're blueberry, banana, peanut butter." At Ed's curious look in response to the odd combination of ingredients, Blake shrugged her shoulders, "Pregnancy cravings."

Ed glanced at his watch, "It's almost noon." Ed then looked up to notice Ross, sitting at the breakfast bar, casually eating Blake's blueberry, banana, peanut butter pancake creation.

"Ed," Ross offered up as a hello.

"Is Holly here? She was supposed to meet me at the Country Club last night for dinner and never showed. I called the station this morning and Gilly said she hadn't shown up yet. I tried to call here, but just got a busy signal."

"She left yesterday. We had an argument and I let it slip…," Blake paused, then shook her head. "...well, I intentionally told her in probably the most insensitive way possible that you were my father and not Roger." Blake sat down, picking at the plate of mostly eaten pancakes with her hands.

"Blake…" Ed began.

"She freaked, Ed. Packed up a bag and left. Broke the phone when I tried to call you."

"Maybe she just needed some time. It's a pretty life changing piece of news to take in," Ed tried to reason.

"You didn't see her. I'm worried."

"Give her some time," Ed reassured.

Ross, having finished his pancakes and coffee as Ed and Blake were talking, interrupted with a slight cough, trying to sound casual. "Blake, thanks for the pancakes. I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the fundraiser on time. Ed." Ross grabbed his suit jacket that was laying on the loveseat.

"Bye," Blake offered a slight wave. "I'll be sure to have Gilly make a copy of that news tape you asked for."

"Yeah, I'll...uh...stop by the station later."

"Call me later," Blake called out as Ross was opening the door. "You know...about the job...for Samantha."

Ross smiled back at her as the screen door closed.

As soon as her heard Ross's car pull out, Ed turned to Blake, "So, how long has this been going on?"

"What?" Blake feigned ignorance, knowing the Ed had picked up on something between her and Ross.

"Holly's not here," Ed began to tick off the evidence. "Ross was sitting there, eating your blueberry, banana, peanut butter pancake creation without complaint, while you're wearing almost nothing. You have no problem mentioning your pregnancy in front of him. He obviously knows about us finding out that I'm your father and not Roger, and last but not least, Ross's hair is wet from a recent shower."

"Who are you, Perry Mason?"

Ed just stared back, daring Blake to deny it.

"So, that means you think we're sleeping together?"

"Yes. Is he the baby's father?" Ed asked directly.

Blake bit her bottom lip, trying to come up with something to say.

Ed took Blake's nonresponse as an affirmative and sighed, "At least it's not Alan-Michael's or Leo Flynn's. Did Holly find out? Is that why she really left?"

Blake looked up, surprised at Ed's easy acceptance. "No, she doesn't know. She really did leave after finding out about Roger."

"Perhaps it's better that she stays away for a while. So, how long _has_ this been going on between you and Ross?"

"A few weeks, a couple months, depends on what you mean by going on?" Blake waffled.

Ed stared at her until she relented. "All right, I started flirting with Ross a couple of months ago. I was trying get back at Mom for telling Alan-Michael about me calling immigration on Elanie. I thought, a little harmless flirting, maybe have Mom catch us in a kiss or two...but then we started to talk. Ross is the first person in a long time who actually listened to me and didn't try to judge me or tell me what I had done wrong. I guess I just started to fall for him, just a little at a time, that I didn't realize what was happening."

"And the baby?"

"It wasn't planned. I know, I know. I doubt anyone would really believe me given my past. It happened after Nick and Mindy's wedding reception."

"During the Blackout," Ed choked out, knowing what lustful situation _he_ had succumbed to with Lillian in the parking garage.

"Yeah. I had an argument with Alan-Michael in the stairwell and took off. I guess Ross saw the end of it and followed me home, to make sure I was okay. We argued and then...things just happened." Blake shrugged and turned to begin picking up the breakfast dishes.

"Is that it? Your mother was under the impression that you had been seeing someone in the last month."

"_Seeing_ is a relative term. I just...there's something about Ross. He's the only one, in a long time, that seems to get me. He makes me want to be a better person. Not that I think I'll ever get there. I even tried to have Holly catch us together a few times, just to hurt her," Blake confessed.

"And how does he feel about the baby?"

"I'm not sure. He seems accepting of it. We talked. He wasn't mad. Honestly, it was nice to talk with someone who had such a mature reaction. I just don't want this hurting his campaign. I know Leo's going down with a DUI, but an affair? And a baby? With _me_? I'm not sure his campaign would survive. And I know how much he wants this."

"So you're going to keep this thing a secret?"

Blake nodded. "That's _my_ plan."

"Ross isn't on board with it, is he?"

Blake shook her head, "He doesn't want to deny his child. He's too good for me. The voters will never accept this. Maybe an affair, I mean it's not like either of us are married. But a _baby_, with Roger Thorpe's daughter?"

"You've forgotten one thing, you're _not_ Roger Thorpe's daughter anymore." Ed smiled, though his heart broke thinking about how lowly Blake thought about herself.

"Yeah, we need to talk about that. Roger will freak if he finds out."

"Blake, Ross has one thing right, a father shouldn't ever have to deny their child. I spent 25 years not knowing you were my daughter and 5 of those years just pretending that you were mine. I don't want to go another minute pretending you're not."

Blake leaned over to hug Ed tightly. "I'm sorry, Ed...Dad. Can we just give it some time? At least until I figure out how to tell Roger without him killing you?"

"I'd like to tell Maureen and Michelle, though. And Rick."

Blake nodded, "Of course you should tell them."

"And I think you should consider not working at WSPR anymore. That way, when you decide to tell Roger, you're not under his thumb at the station."

"And where would I work? Spaulding's not hiring, me, at least. Billy wouldn't touch me a ten foot poll. There's surprisingly very little options in Springfield for a young woman with an MBA from Northwestern who's managed to piss off or screw over the majority of the corporate elite."

"Cedar's has a PR opening. It probably won't pay as well as Roger, but it comes with a seat on the Fundraising Board. You have a lot of business contacts, we could use you."

"Tempting. Can I think about it?"

"Of course. Now let's talk about how I'm about to be a Grandpa!"

Blake giggled and smiled. Ed thought it was one of the most genuine smiles he had seen from her in a long time. His little girl looked happy.

_To Be Continued..._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_WSPR_

_Sunday, August 2, 1992_

The elevators opened up to a bustling newsroom. Surprised at how busy WSPR was on a Sunday afternoon, Blake made her way to her mother's office. Knowing Holly wouldn't be there, but hoping to find Gilly, she was startled when Roger appeared before her.

"Chrissy? Good to see you. I don't know where your mother is, but we've got to get a handle on this Leo thing before the work week starts." He grabbed her arm and led Blake back to his office.

"We? I should probably stay out of having a hand in this story."

"No, Chrissy, what I'm talking about is you need to get on the phone to the DA's office and change your statement. Leo cannot go down for a DUI. How are we going to build our Thorpe family empire with Ross Marler in office?"

Blake stood, mouth agape, but Roger continued on, shuffling papers on his desk. "Now, I've hired a lawyer, he can argue that you were confused. You had a concussion, you didn't know what you were saying. The blood tests might be a problem, but I've got some connections...we'll you don't need to know the details."

"I quit," Blake stated quietly.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I know it's a bit of a longshot, but with your reputation, I don't think anyone would question your lying to get out of being in trouble."

"I quit." Blake spoke louder, causing Roger to glance up.

"Oh, honey. It's a bit underhanded, but it's not like you haven't done worse. Leo can't lose this election." Roger gestured to the model of Thorpe Tower sitting on his side table. "This is our future, Chrissy. You and me, running Thorpe Communications. Together."

"I quit." Blake threw her WSPR badge on the desk and walked out the door, head held high and proud of her decision to stand up to Roger. It helped knowing that he was not, in fact, her flesh and blood. How could she not see it? All those years? He just expected her to follow his underhanded schemes now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Lakeland Country Club_

_Friday, August 7, 1992_

Friday evening found Blake sitting at a small, out of the way table at the country club, Michelle by her side and Maureen sitting across from them. Ed had told them about the paternity test and Michelle was ecstatic about Blake being her 'real' sister. Ed had invited her out to celebrate her new job at Cedars.

Ed was running late, so she and Maureen had ordered some h'orderves, enjoying a light hearted conversation, mostly allowing Michelle to talk about what was going on in her life. It was nice hearing about the uncomplicated life of a 12-year-old. Maureen raised her eye at Blake's unusual drink order of club soda with a twist, though, tactfully, didn't say anything.

Shortly into Michelle's story of little Bill's antics during recess, Ed approached the table, followed closely by Ross. Ed leaned down to kiss Maureen, taking the seat next to her, "I hope you don't mind, I ran into Ross in the parking lot and invited him to join us."

Ross smiled at her and took the open seat on Blake's left. "I hear congratulations are in order on your new job at Cedars?" Ross inquired.

Blake smiled back, adding a thank you, knowing Ross already knew about the job, but pretended for the benefit of Ed and Maureen. Blake hadn't yet told him that Ed knew about their affair, wanting Ross to not feel uncomfortable around his best friend.

They enjoyed a quiet dinner, chatting about the going-ons at Cedars, Spaulding, and the latest on Ross's campaign. Ed steered clear of any conversation about Holly, knowing Maureen's aversion to the woman. Blake had informed Ed earlier that day that she still hadn't heard anything from Holly.

"Blake, it was lovely seeing you again, and congratulations on your job at Cedars, Maureen started. "We do need get going, though. Michelle has an early practice in the morning."

"Yes, we do. Blake, see you on Monday." Ed leaned over to give his daughter a hug. "Ross, can you make sure Blake gets home alright?"

"Sure, Ed. Goodnight. Maureen. Michelle."

"Night, Ross," Maureen replied. Ed, Michelle, and Maureen walked out of the club.

Ross glanced over at Blake, "Are you crying again," he whispered jokingly. He'd been pretty sure he'd seen Blake cry more times this week than he'd ever seen her. The other night, she had cried over a long-distance telephone commercial.

Blake at batted the tear rolling down her face, "Damn hormones," she chuckled. "That's my family, my dad, my sister. And Maureen's acted more like a mom to me over the years than Holly.

Ross grabbed her hand that was placed on her stomach and squeezed it reassuringly, knowing that no one could see it behind the table cloth, as they were seated against the back wall. "So, dessert?" Ross quipped, knowing Blake's increased appetite.

"Yes, please, but not here," Blake purred.

"I think there might be some ice cream left over from the other night. Maybe some whipped cream and chocolate sauce?"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Blake grabbed her purse and allowed Ross to lead her out of the club, very carefully _not_ touching each other. They failed to see a suspicious looking Alan-Michael at the bar, wondering why Blake was cozying up to the DA. He'd thought they'd put the whole Packard deal mess behind them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Ross's House_

_Friday, August 7, 1992_

Moonlight streamed through the large windows behind Ross's bed, casting a glow over Blake's creamy skin. 'She's beautiful,' he mussed. 'She's mine.' This whirlwind romance between himself and Blake had been completely unexpected. The beginning of the affair had been exhilarating, intoxicating, but that was all he thought it would ever be.

His feelings for her crept up on him, silent and unassuming, until he'd looked at her that night at the dance for the Blackout victims, hurting, being forced by Nadine's auction to be confronted with what most of the town thought of her. He looked at her, wanting to bid on her, a thousand dollars, ten thousand, there was no limit in his mind, but his voice caught in his throat and he hated himself for being the cause of that hurt.

The baby was even more unexpected, but he'd never felt more at home in his life, lying with this incredible woman in his arms. After that night, when they had just talked about everything and anything, Ross felt like Blake knew him better than anyone, and yet, she was still here. With him.

"I can hear you thinking, counselor," Blake teased. "I thought after that last round, I'd knocked most of the coherent thought out of you."

"Just thinking that I don't want to be any other place but right here, right now, with you."

"That's good, because I don't think I _can_ move," Blake smiled against his chest, placing a soft kiss there.

"So we just stay here, there's a phone. I'll run my campaign from this bed. You will stay undressed," Ross's eyes roamed up and down her bare body. "Food might be a problem."

"I'm sure Towers will deliver," Blake fed into his fantasy.

They fell into a comfortable silence, imagining a world where it was just them.

"Ed knows," Blake divulged.

"About…?"

"About us."

Ross sat up abruptly, jostling Blake from her comfortable position. "How?"

"He's apparently a very observant person." Blake leaned with her back against his chest, Ross taking his arms to wrap around her belly. She wasn't showing yet in the least, but Ross had picked up a habit in the last week of touching her stomach when they were alone. "He figured it out after you left last weekend."

"He didn't let on that he knew anything tonight?" Ross said, confused. He imagined when Ed found about him and his daughter he'd have much more to say than 'Join us for dinner.'

"Honestly, he didn't have much of a reaction at all. Wanted to know how it happened, how you felt about the baby. He seemed fine with it. I actually think he was more concerned about my getting into a relationship with Phillip all those years ago."

"Wow," Ross commented. "I suppose I'll have to have a conversation with my dear friend about my intentions with his daughter."

"And what are your intentions?" Blake whispered sensually.

"Blake…"

"Hmm…," she responded as she turned to trail kisses up his neck.

"We need to talk." Ross pulled his head away from her mouth, drawing a disappointed groan.

"Talk later, kiss now."

"I know you think we should hide our relationship until after the election."

"Mmmhmm." Blake tried to distract him again by running her hands down his chest.

"I think we should modify that plan a bit."

Blake paused her ministrations, interested in what Ross's plan was.

"What if we were seen around town together? A lunch here, a dinner there. Nobody would question it. We've known each other for a long time. That way, if...when somebody finds out, it won't seem so extreme, it won't seem like we were hiding anything."

"Hiding in plain sight? It could work. Until I start to show. I had an appointment with Dr. Sedgwick yesterday. I'm due on April 1st. I'll be 20 weeks by election day, most definitely showing."

Ross chuckled, "An April Fool's baby? Sounds about right for us."

"Ross," Blake playfully punched his arm, "I'm serious. How are we going to explain it when people find out I'm pregnant. You may not know this about our little town, but people in Springfield are nosey."

"I've heard a rumor or two about it. How about we try just not explaining anything? See what happens?"

"You are far too nonchalant about all of this."

"How about we save this conversation for later. I've suddenly gotten my second wind." Ross pulled Blake down and proceeded to kiss the objections out of her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Saturday, August 8, 1992_

Blake spent the next morning, after weaseling her way out of Ross bed, much to his objections, getting caught up on some bills and skimming through a book on pregnancy that Ed had given her. She'd spent most nights that week at Ross's, both of them afraid that Holly would come back and they didn't want her to find them in bed, in her house.

A knock at the door startled Blake out her musings of how her baby was now the size of a blueberry. She couldn't believe something that small was making her have such weird cravings and cry so much.

Getting up, she was surprised to see Alan-Michael at her door. Bracing herself for whatever scheme he was up to or favor he was asking, she let him in.

"To what do I owe this pleasure on a Saturday morning? Don't you have better things to do with your _wife_?" Blake had been over Alan-Michael for a couple of weeks now, but just enjoyed goading him.

"We need to talk," Alan-Michael stated seriously.

"About?"

"You and Ross."

Blake hearts began to thunk in her chest. 'How did Alan-Michael know about her and Ross? They'd been fairly discrete.'

"What about me and Ross," she stuttered.

"Blake, look, I thought the Packard mess was behind us. You agreed you wouldn't go to Ross. And then I see you talking to him last night at the country club? What do you want to be silent about it? I can't give you your job back, but money, stock? What do you want? Just name it. I can't have this deal sneaking up on me."

Blake felt instant relief that Alan-Michael had mistaken her interaction with Ross last night. She began, "Alan-Michael, look, I told you…"

Alan-Michael noticed Blake's face take on a pale shade as she put her hand over her mouth and ran towards the back of the house. Towards the bathroom, he guessed, as heard the sound of retching.

Concerned, but not willing to go near someone throwing up, Alan-Michael had a seat on the couch, noticing the opened book on the coffee table. _What to Expect When You're Expecting. _ He glanced back towards the bathroom, the sounds beginning to taper off, and heard the faucet running.

Blake finally emerged from the bathroom and took a seat on the loveseat.

Alan-Michael started at her, expectantly.

"What?" She barked, irritated. "It's just a touch of the flu."

"The flu?" He asked, doubtful, then gave a pointed look at the book on the coffee table.

Blake ignored him, speaking, "Look, I don't plan on letting Ross in on your little scheme with the file. But I want some assurances." She might as well get something out of Alan-Michael if he believed she was going to turn him in for corporate espionage.

"Assurances?"

"Yes. There may come a time when I'll need your help. Well, Spaulding Enterprises' help actually."

"A time?" Alan-Michael questioned.

"Yes. I can't give you specifics, but trust me, I won't cost you a dime and it's not illegal."

"So you want my blanket assurance that I will help you in some unnamed way, for some unknown reason, sometime in the future?"

"Yes," Blake stated.

Alan-Michael sighed, knowing that Blake drove a hard bargain. Her promise that it wouldn't cost him money and wasn't illegal pacified him slightly. "Deal."

Blake smiled, reassured. If for some reason she and Ross were found out, she'd at least have Spaulding backing him.

"So, who's the baby daddy, Blake?" He asked rather directly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Blake smirked and walked to the door, indicating that he should leave.

_To be continued..._


	12. Chapter 12

**I'd like to take a moment to thank crawleyfan and stephiphill for taking the time to review my chapters. I write for me, but its nice that other are reading and enjoying my story. My writers block has lifted, and it's good timing because I'm a teacher on Spring Break!, so expect a few more chapters out this week. Happy reading!**

Chapter 12

_Blake's House_

_Saturday, August 8. 1992_

After Alan-Michael left, Blake tried her best to relax. Of all the people she had to have her first bout of morning sickness in front of! She hoped he would at least be discreet and not divulge that information to anyone.

Grabbing the last bit of mail, she sorted through to find the bills that needed to be paid. Usually leaving that task to her mother, who owned the house, Blake had already been through the utilities and her own personal bills. The only bill left to be opened was Holly's credit card bill.

Hoping to find a clue as to where her mother ran off to, she wasn't sure if this month's bill would hold the clue or she's have to wait until the next one. Luck was with her, as she found the last purchase was for a plane ticket, bought at Springfield International. She'd have to do a little digging to find out where the flight was to, but now she at least had a direction. Blake made a mental note to call Frank on Monday morning.

Blake spent an hour or two reading her pregnancy book, before she got the itch to work on a project for her new job. Blake really was a workaholic, though most people never saw it. She was quick and efficient, therefor appearing to have plenty of free time to bug her co-workers or plan how to one-up them.

Cedars yearly fundraiser was coming up, and Blake was tasked to contact the major donors, including finding a location, catering, etc...all donated of course. Ideas floated around the Board meeting Thursday, Blake's first day on the job. Years past had seen carnivals, balls, concerts, etc. Blake immediately nixed the idea of the carnival, and those around to remember the incident with Roger and Rita agreed, though Blake did think some event to include children would be nice.

She spend the next several hours sketching out plans, making lists of people to contact, and ideas for locations. She wanted a variety of suggestions to present to Dr. Grant on Monday, wanting to show that Ed's hiring her was a good idea.

A knock interrupted her frantic scribbling. Thinking it was probably the chinese delivery she had ordered, Blake shoved the pregnancy book between the couch cushions, just in case. The preventative measure proved useful, as she spied Roger at the door. Groaning, she steeled herself for an argument. She hadn't spoken to Roger since quitting on Sunday.

"Chrissy!" Roger boomed and went in for a hug. Blake gave back a half-hearted embrace, not quite sure what he was up to.

"Dad," Blake choked out.

"Now Chrissy, I wanted to talk to you, now that you've had a chance to calm down. I know what I asked you was a little underhanded, but you've got to see the bigger picture!"

Blake didn't say a word, just stared with her arms crossed.

"So, we agree," Roger projected his own thoughts on her. "You'll come back to work on Monday and we'll come up with a plan to mitigate Leo's DUI and get him back on top. I'm thinking that I should hire a PI to look into Ross. He's got to have a skeleton or two in his closet. Everyone does."

"Dad," Blake interrupted. "I'm not coming back to WSPR."

"Chrissy, you have to have a job!"

"I have a job. I'm head of PR at Cedars."

"Oh, honey, you can't be serious. That is so beneath you. Working at a hospital? You deserve to be the head of a company. That's what I'm trying to do for us! You and me, running our Empire!"

"Dad, I'm not coming back. I'm enjoying my new job," Blake spoke plainly, not wanting to get into an argument. She was tired and cranky and hungry.

"Oh, I get it, working for the good Dr. Ed?"

"Dad, don't start."

"Chrissy, you're a Thorpe. You belong beside me. Working with me to get what we've always wanted! Not working at Cedars. What are you doing? Shooting ads with smiling nurses and friendly doctors? Come on, Chrissy, that's not you."

"So enlighten me. Who am I?"

"You're me! Chrissy, you've always been the one most like me. All the things we've done, it's all for us. Our future!"

"And what if I don't want that to be me, anymore? I don't want to be the girl that you go to if you want some unethical thing done. I don't want to be the first person anyone suspects when some secret is leaked or a file goes missing."

"So what, you're just going to turn a new leaf? Vow to be a better person? You know this town, Chrissy, they won't let that happen. To them, you'll always be the person who tried to have Phillip Spaulding committed. The person who hid the fact that Beth Raines was alive. The person that faked a pregnancy to marry another Spaulding. The person who turned Elanie into immigration. The person who..."

"Enough!" Blake roared, turning her back to Roger as all the memories of the 'evil' things she had done rushed back.

"Chrissy, that's the real you! Remember asking me to have Beth killed? I never wanted that for you, for you to be that person, but it's just in our DNA. Things we just can't help," Roger continued pressing, his anger intensifying.

"Stop!" Blake sat on the couch, curling in on herself, pressing her hands against her ears, as if that would stop Roger's barrage.

"No Chrissy," Roger scolded. "It's time you learn to accept just who you are. You can't turn 'good'. This town will _never_ allow it. They'll always be there, right around the corner, to remind you of who you really are! They'll never let anything you did in the past go. Years could pass and they'll still be bringing up all you past mistakes. THEY NEVER LET YOU FORGET!"

"Stop! You're wrong!" Blake yelled. "I can make up for the things I've done. I'm not you!"

"Roger, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Blake could hear Ross's voice cut through the sound of her breath. She was hyperventilating and couldn't stop it.

Ross grabbed Roger's hand from where it was grasping onto Blake's arm.

"Get away from me," Roger ordered, flinching away from Ross's grasp. "This has nothing to do with you. This is between me and my daughter. You've already cost me my son. What the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

"It has something to do with me when I can hear you screaming at her from outside the house," Ross spat. "I suggest you leave, before I decide to call Springfield PD."

"Ross Marler, always the _good_ guy, showing up where he's not wanted. You forget, _buddy_, I know the _real_ you," Roger taunted.

"Go!" Blake demanded. "Go away!"

"See, Ross, she wants you to leave," Roger said haughtily.

"No," Blake sobbed, "Roger, go!"

Ross reached over to grab the phone, sensing that Roger wasn't going to leave unless he followed through with his threat to call the police. Roger ceded, picking up his hands in a "don't shoot me" gesture and walked out the door with a snarl in Ross's direction.

Ross waited a beat until he could hear Roger's car pull out of the driveway and dove to embrace her.

"Okay, honey, slow deep breaths. He's gone now, he can't hurt you." Ross continued to whisper reassuring words to Blake. "That's right, breathe in slowly...breathe out." He's seen her have panic attacks like this before, and knew once she got her breathing under control, she would be okay.

Some time passed before Blake's breathing finally evened out, an occasional hiccup echoed through the darkening house.

A soft tap at the screen door broke Ross's focus on Blake. He lifted his head up to see Dr. Sara McIntyre poke her head in the door. It had been some time since he had seen her, but she had been a constant presence in his life when she was treating Carrie. She moved to Oregon with Adam Thorpe years ago, though Ross knew she and Adam had been divorced for quite a few years.

"Well, Ross Marler," Sara spoke softly, seeing Blake curled up in his arms, and not wanting to startle her. "Long time, no see."

Blake, hearing the gentle tone of her step-grandmother slash psychiatrist, picked her head up and smiled. "You came!"

"You needed me, I came," agreed Sara. She noticed Ross looking a tad uncomfortable and spoke to reassure him. "Don't worry, I know about you and Blake. She told me everything on the phone last week. Almost," Sara smiled.

"What happened?" Being used to Blake various emotional responses, having known her as a granddaughter and patient for the past 15 years, Sara could see that she was recovering from a panic attack. Sara knew that most of Blake's panic attacks in the past tended to revolve around Roger Thorpe in some way, shape, or form.

Even before she knew that Roger was her father, Blake had horrible nightmares about Roger trying to take her from the carnival, in that awful clown costume, and when he tried to grab her from that hotel room in Santo Domingo. The nightmares and panic attacks got worse that summer she turned 17, having found out in the spring that Roger Thorpe was her father. Blake had spent almost the entire summer break with her and Adam, after Holly, unable to deal with the highly emotional girl, sent her off to the states before she was to begin college. She had no doubts this new information about Ed actually being her father had sparked those past emotions.

"Roger...what else?" Blake sighed.

"I pulled up in the driveway and heard Roger and Blake, well mostly Roger, yelling. When I came in Blake was curled up on the couch and Roger was saying some pretty awful things to her," Ross explained.

"Okay, Blake, you know the drill. Do you want Ross to stay?" Blake nodded. "Okay. I want you to get comfortable. Start talking when you're ready. No censoring!" Sara warned. "If at any time you want Ross to leave, just say so."

Blake took her time rearranging herself on the couch. She made Ross sit behind her, leaning her back against his front, sitting between his legs. She moved his arms and hands to encircle her belly. This was the position that made her feel safe. Loved. Secure.

Sara leaned over to dim the living room lamp, throwing a flood of shadows across the room. Ross surmised that Blake preferred to have her counseling sessions with Sara in the dark, just as she had talked with him last weekend and the night they first made love. She had something there, talking in the darkness decreased that vulnerable feeling that people were judging you.

Blake began to talk about what had happened with Roger, her doubts surfacing that he might have been right about not being able to change. She spoke about her concerns for their child, her worry about Holly, both for how Holly was dealing with the news about Roger and how she would handle finding out about Ross. She spoke about everything that had happened in the past few months, while Ross and Sara silently listened.

Ross shed a few quiet tears, hearing Blake talk so lowly about herself, her doubts about motherhood, but he had to hand it to Sara. With a few well timed questions, Blake's conversation started to turn more positive. What felt like hours later, Blake had finally talked herself to exhaustion, falling asleep against Ross's chest.

Sara excused herself, telling Ross she had reserved a room at the Springfield Inn and that she would stop by tomorrow to check on Blake.

Ross slipped off the couch, locking up the doors, before scooping Blake up and carrying her to the bedroom. 'This is love', Ross mused. He had thought he's been in love before. With Vanessa...Carrie...Holly, but nothing had ever compared to this emotion that he was feeling towards Blake. He wanted to protect her with all his being, wanted to share everything with her, wanted to make a life with her and their child. He wasn't even sure how to describe it. It was exhilarating and frightening all at the same time, but there was no other place he rather be.

_To be continued..._


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Blake's House_

_Sunday, August 9, 1992_

Blake woke up late the next morning to the smell of bacon, sausage, and eggs. Ravenous, she made her way to the kitchen, to find Ross cooking up a storm. She smiled and just watched him, unnoticed.

Sneaking up behind him, Blake wrapped her hands around his waist and held him closely. "Smells wonderful. I'm starving! I didn't know you cooked?"

Turning around in her arms, Ross placed a kiss on her forehead. "I've been a bachelor most of my life, if I couldn't cook the basics, I'd starve!" Ross joked.

"Dig in," Ross invited, a plate already set at the table.

"Did Sara leave last night?"

"Yes, she mentioned that she had a room at the Springfield Inn. She's planning to stop by later."

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that all night," Blake apologized. "It's just that when something is bothering me, or I'm stressed, it helps to get it all out. If I don't, it just festers, and then, I end up doing something really stupid."

"Blake, don't apologize. It seems like Sara's been helping you for a while?"

"Since I was around ten, I think. That was the year mom married Dietrich Lindsey. She shipped me off to Adam's for the summer. Didn't want me around. I had a nightmare about Roger and the clown costume, you know, at the carnival before he kidnapped Rita? Sara's been listening to me ever since. Though I haven't spoken to her much lately. And believe me, Sara read me the riot act about all the messed up things I did these past few years when I called her last week."

Ross wasn't quite sure what to say. He knew about her many, many past mistakes, but didn't think it would help for them to get into it. Blake wanted to change and he would help her do so.

Just then, Sara knocked at the door and Ross got up to let her in. "Sara! Come on in, we were just staring breakfast. Have a seat."

"Thank you, Ross. I know we didn't have much time to talk last night, but it's good to see you."

Blake got up to give Sara a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you."

"So, how long are you planning to stay?" Blake asked, hoping that she would stick around for a while. She had a feeling that she would need some extra support in the coming months, especially if Holly came back, or they decided to tell Roger.

"Actually, I think I'm going to be moving back to Springfield!" Sara announced. "It's a bit lonely, rattling around in that old house. I might be retired, but I like feeling useful. I ran into Ed yesterday afternoon and he was telling me about Cedar's plans to build a family crisis center?"

"Yes, Dr. Grant mentioned that the other day," Blake started. "I'm working on the fundraiser this year, most of the money is ear-marked for the new center. Though center is a bit of an overstatement. They're planning on using a few rooms in the East Wing that haven't been occupied in a while. They'll have family doctor and psychiatrist on staff, a social worker, and some others on call for a case by case basis. Their focus is having one place for rape victims, victims of abuse, and their families to receive all their services."

Ross sat silently, watching Blake's face animate as she was talking about the Family Crisis Center. He had been involved in the initial planning stages, as the DA, being familiar with the services victims and their families needed as they went through medical treatment, counseling, and the stress of legal proceedings.

"That sounds right up my alley," Sara commented.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Thursday, August 13, 1992_

The work week progressed slowly, Dr. Grant approving Blake's idea for a 10k and kids fun-run on the last Saturday in September as well as an adults-only masked ball the next weekend. She had sponsors lined up for the race, but just needed a venue for the ball. She was thinking the Towers would be the best location, though Dr. Grant wanted Blake to handle it, not wanting to make his new son-in-law feel obligated to offer up his restaurant.

Blake had called Frank on Monday, getting him to check in on the flight that Holly took, but it was now Thursday and she hadn't heard back from him.

Wanting to get back to work quickly, Blake grabbed a salad in the hospital cafeteria. She could not fail to notice an overeager Samantha Marler waving her down from one of the small tables.

"Blake!" Samantha called.

"Samantha! What brings you here?" asked Blake, taking a seat. "The delicious hospital cafeteria food?"

"Actually, it's my first day at work! After I left you the other week, I noticed that Cedars was hiring in their legal department! I applied and got the job! I'm so excited! My first real job as a lawyer," Samantha gushed.

"Congratulations! I just saw Ross the other day and he didn't mention it."

"Oh, he doesn't know yet! I invited him over for lunch to surprise him. Oh, there he is now! Uncle Ross! Over here!" Samantha shouted across the cafeteria.

"Samantha. Blake," Ross greeted them. "So what's the surprise? I didn't know Blake would be joining us?" He turned to question Blake, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I was just grabbing a salad and ran into Sam."

"Oh, Uncle Ross, I have the _best_ news! I got my very first job as a lawyer!" Samantha exclaimed.

"Doing what? Suing the hospital cafeteria for selling mediocre food?" Ross quipped, eyeing the limp salad on Blake's plate.

"Oh, Uncle Ross, you're too funny. No, I'm one of the new Junior Legal Counsels for Cedars!" Samantha said proudly.

"Congratulations, Sam! I'm so proud of you." Ross leaned over to hug his niece. "So how about we go out to lunch to celebrate, Blake, you're welcome to join us. This news deserves better that cafeteria food!"

"Oh sorry, Uncle Ross, I don't have very much time off for lunch."

"How about dinner? I have a fundraiser tonight, but we could do Friday? At the country Club?"

"That sound great!" Samantha bubbled. "Blake, you should come, too. Your part of the reason I saw the job listing!"

"Sure, Sam," It might be a little awkward, eating with Ross and Samantha when Sam didn't know about the two of them, but Samantha was one of those people you couldn't turn down without feeling very guilty about it.

When she was a teenager, Samantha had been quite judgmental, especially when she found out out Phillip and Meredith, but as she'd grown up and experienced life, she was much more supportive. Blake supposed it had been Ross's influence. She was one of those people who still had a kind word to say to you even when you messed things up. And Blake was no stranger to messing things up.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Thursday, August 13, 1992_

A little while later, Blake was back in her office, working out the details of a promotional ad for the hospital's new children's vaccination initiative. The secretary that the PR and Hospital Fundraising Board office shared knocked, bringing in a brown paper bag that smelled heavenly.

"Blake, this was just delivered for you from the country club."

"Thanks, Natalie," Blake said with a smile.

"I didn't know they delivered," Natalie spoke.

"I guess you just have to know the right people," Blake responded.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Friday, August 14, 1992_

Friday afternoon, Blake dropped by the Legal Department at Cedars, which was just a few turns down the hall from her office.

"Samantha," Blake poked her head through the door to the girl's office. "Wrap up your work...we're going shopping!"

"Blake!" beamed Samantha. "Shopping for what?"

"Clothes of course. You need a new outfit to celebrate your new job!" Blake didn't mention that she also needed some new outfits that would help disguise the belly that she knew was going to "pop out" any day now.

Blake decided she was going to befriend the bubbly Samantha Marler. She missed having a female friend. No one since Meredith had bothered getting to know her. Though Samantha was a few years younger, she reminded Blake of herself, though not in personality, but in their intelligence. Samantha had completed college in less than 2 years and then had graduated from Law School in record time. Blake herself had completed an MBA from Northwestern by the time she was 22.

The girls had a blast trying on clothes, each purchasing a couple of new outfits. Blake encouraged Samantha to try on some clothes that would show off her figure, though she ultimately chose some more conservative pieces for work. Blake had purchased a few work outfits that had more of an empire waistline, so she would be able to disguise her growing belly without having to revert to maternity wear too soon. Each bought a new dress to wear at the country club that night.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Lakeland Country Club_

_Friday, August 14, 1992_

They met Ross out by the pool, Blake giving him a covert wink, when Samantha wasn't looking. Ross blushed and stuttered, "I...I...th...ought we could eat on the patio tonight. It's such a nice night, this good weather won't last long."

'Talking about the weather already, counselor,' Blake thought. 'We'll just have to fix that later.'

"You look beautiful tonight, Sam," Ross complimented as he pulled out a chair for Samantha and then for Blake.

"Blake and I went out shopping after work. She helped me pick this out," Samantha beamed.

Ross gave Blake a surprised look to which she responded, "Every career girl's got to have a new wardrobe. I picked up a few _new_ things myself," Blake's tone implied that she might share those purchases with him when Samantha was not around.

The dinner went well, Ross mostly asking Samantha about her new job responsibilities and doing his duty as her pseudo-guardian to inquire about her new apartment.

Though Blake didn't say much to Ross beyond some talk about the campaign, Samantha was starting to get a feeling, call it intuition, about something going on between the two. She started watching their interactions more closely, noticing how her Uncle Ross smiled at Blake as she cracked a joke or how Blake listened intently as Ross discussed the finer points of his media campaign. They looked happy. Relaxed.

Knowing that her Uncle Ross wasn't currently seeing anybody and pretty sure that Blake was single, Samantha started to come up with a plan.

_To be continued…_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_The Towers_

_Monday, August 17, 1992_

Blake had spent a quiet weekend alone, as Ross had several campaign obligations out of town. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Ross was running a statewide campaign, he spent so much time in Springfield.

Frank had gotten back to her about her mother's flight. It turned out that Holly had caught a flight to Santo Domingo. There was no return flight booked and Blake was worried. She debated on whether or not to call Roger, not wanting to get into yet another fight, but she thought Roger might be the only one who could ever banish the demons that Holly was fighting, given that he'd caused them. She knew that they'd come to an understanding in Acapulco, but neither Holly nor Roger had shared the details with her.

On Monday morning, Blake made her way to the Towers Club, hoping to catch Hampton Speaks while it wasn't so busy. She was hoping to get him to agree to host the fundraiser ball and provide catering, all as a donation to Cedar's Hospital. Blake was also hoping that she wouldn't run into the Billy Lewis.

Luck was with her as she entered the Towers Club and noticed Hampton Speaks at the bar. "Hamp, just the man I wanted to see," Blake said brightly.

"Blake," Hamp responded. "What can I do for you this fine morning?" Hamp knew that Blake had quit her job at WSPR, Gilly had told him that much, but he had no clue where she was working now. He hoped she wasn't looking for a job.

"I wanted to talk to you about Cedars' upcoming fundraiser. The hospital was hoping that you would donate your services and provide a location and catering for the fundraiser ball."

"So, you're working for Cedar's now?" Hamp inquired.

"Yes, I'm head of the PR department."

"Well, Blake, I'll have to discuss this with Billy first. We make all our decisions as a partnership. Speak of the devil, there he is."

"Billy! I wanted to talk to you about hosting the Cedar's fundraiser this year."

"You're running it?" Billy derided. "Send someone else over and I'll talk to them about it. I'm not dealing with Thorpe's daughter." Billy turned and walked away.

Hamp shrugged, "Maybe it's best you do send someone else over. Billy's got a long memory.

Blake walked away, discouraged by the interaction. Perhaps it was time to let the world know about Ed. Maybe they'd start giving her a fair shake.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_The Towers_

_Thursday, August 20, 1992_

On Thursday, Blake made her way back to the Towers. She and Samantha were supposed to have lunch. Blake had an appointment away from the office that morning, and told Samantha she would meet her there. Blake was hoping to avoid Billy once more and talk to Hamp.

When she arrived, Samantha wasn't there yet and she didn't see either Hamp or Billy, so she had a seat at the bar. "Afternoon Max," she greeted the friendly bartender.

"Good Afternoon, Ms. Thorpe," he smiled. "What can I get you, the usual?"

"Not today, a gingerale, straight up!" Blake joked.

"Gotcha," Max replied. "Meeting someone?" Max tried to make conversation, Blake Thorpe was one of the hottest ladies that came to the Towers. He loved watching the way she flirted, even if it wasn't with him. It helped that she was also a decent tipper.

"I'm meeting Samantha Marler, don't see her yet, though."

"Ross Marler's little niece? I haven't seen her around lately."

"She's not so little anymore, Max. She's a lawyer now." Just as Blake spoke, Samantha walked in, catching the eye of Max, the bartender.

"Yeah, definitely not so little anymore," Max whispered under his breath, while Blake cackled lightly at his expression. Samantha was wearing one of the new outfits they'd bought last week.

"Ms. Marler, your table's just about ready. Can I get you something from the bar?" Max offered cheerily.

"Vodka and soda with a twist, thanks," Samantha responded.

"Sure thing."

"Is Uncle Ross here yet?" Samantha questioned Blake.

"Ross is coming?" Blake tried not to sound too excited. She hadn't seen Ross since Friday, he'd been so busy with the campaign all week.

Max smirked to himself. He's suspected something was going on between the two. Both had left at the same time before the blackout, Ross literally running after Blake towards the elevators. He'd clearly recognized Blake's distinctive voice when she's called saying Ross Marler's campaigners had ordered a limo for him. Her stopping by later to pick up a picnic basket sealed the deal.

"Yes, it was the only free time he had all week, we'll except tomorrow night, but I have a date!" Samantha explained excitedly.

"Oh, there he is," Samantha waved Ross over.

"You're table is ready," announced the hostess and the three were seated quickly.

"Sammy, good to see you," Ross greeted his niece with a kiss. "Blake. How's the new jobs going?"

"Great," replied Blake. "I'm still looking for a venue for the fundraiser ball, though. Oh, and I meant to talk to you about a PR opportunity. The hospital is planning on running a PSA to encourage childhood vaccinations. It seemed like something that might be a boost to your campaign!"

"I'll think about it, Can we get together later to talk about the details? I don't want to bore Sammy."

Samantha looked up as her name was mentioned. "Oh my, I just forgot, I have a one o'clock meeting about the Vaccine Drive. We have to get the legal releases in order to send home with the students at Springfield Elementary."

Samantha grabbed her purse and stood up with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, I'll call you next week and we can do this again. Both of you, stay and enjoy. Lunch is on me."

Ross stared at Samantha as she rushed out the door. "I wonder what's going on with that girl? She's usually not so scatterbrained about her schedule."

Blake tried to hide her giggle behind her hands. "Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"She's trying to set us up! She must have rescheduled this lunch 3 times. I bet she was trying to find a time when we would both be available!"

Ross shook his head. "We'll, it fits in with my plan for us to be seen out together."

"So, how was your week?" Blake changed the subject.

Ross and Blake chatted quietly over their lunch, catching up, but keeping their conversation light enough for public display.

"So, you're still looking for a venue for the ball?" Ross asked.

"Yes, I though the Towers would be perfect, but Billy wouldn't even let me get in a word, not that I blame him. I'm sending one of the junior PR people over tomorrow to meet with Hamp."

"Have you considered the country club?" Ross noticed Billy take a seat at the table behind them, but Blake, having her back turned, didn't notice.

"Yes, I had a meeting with them this morning. They were a little put-off by the focus of the fundraiser. They offered the facility for free, but not the catering or bar service. I guess the country club is a little too conservative to want to deal with the issue of rape or domestic violence."

Ross noticed Billy perk his head up at Blake's comment. He encouraged her to keep talking, knowing Billy would give in when he found out where the fundraisers proceeds would go.

"I just don't want to spend more money than I have to on the event. I want most of the money raised to go straight to the Family Crisis Center. I think they're going to need more staff and resources than they think. So many women don't report abuse or rape, but I think once word gets out, we might see more women coming out of the woodwork, or children seeking help in abuse situations. Vanessa's trial helped make the issue more public. We're also considering adding women's resources for things like counseling for unexpected pregnancies and other services."

Ross nodded in agreement. "Yes, we've seen an upsurge in domestic violence cases at the DA's office. We had to hire another ADA."

Billy walked around the table and interrupted the conversation, "Blake, maybe I was a bit hasty the other day. I'd like to offer up the Towers for the fundraiser. We'll take care of the catering and a limited open bar. You're big wigs will want access to the good stuff, but they can pay for it. We'll give you everything over wholesale price from the bar."

Blake's mouth dropped open. "Billy, that's very generous, Are you sure?"

"Here's a business tip, darlin'. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'll have Wanda type up a contract for the hospital." Billy walked away, leaving Blake flummoxed.

"Did that just happen?"

Ross just nodded and smiled. "So, shall we talk about the Vaccine PSA? I have an appointment in a half an hour, but I think I could clear my schedule tomorrow night?"

"Sure," Blake answered, head still spinning. "Though I do have some old PSA's that the hospital asked me to look through and evaluate some changes. We'll have to have access to a VCR."

"My place, six o'clock? We can order in," Ross offered.

"Sounds perfect."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Ross's House_

_Friday, August 21, 1992_

Ross walked into his house, shutting the door behind him and fell tiredly against it. Loosening his tie and placing his briefcase on the desk, he mused about his day. Two campaign rallies, three pre-trial meetings, and one court appearance. He wasn't sure he could keep up this schedule until November.

One thing made him smile, though, he spied Blake asleep on the couch. He loved that she was so comfortable at his house. She's obviously been in his bedroom, as she was wearing an old t-shirt of his and not much else.

"Ross," she croaked, her voice gravelly with sleep. "Add shrimp to the list of things I'm not eating anymore. I tried to make dinner," she explained sheepishly. "I do appreciate that you keep your bathroom clean," Blake joked.

"Thank the maid," Ross replied. "How are you feeling?" He walked over to the bar to pour her a ginger ale that he'd kept stocked since she'd started encountering morning sickness.

"Better now," Blake said, sitting up.

"How do you feel about a bacon double cheeseburger and chocolate cake from the dinner?" Ross held up the brown bag of food.

"You read my mind!" Blake smiled.

"Though, Frank might be getting suspicious. I guess not many people request mustard and avocado on their burgers. He raised an eyebrow at the order."

"Nah, Frank's too oblivious sometimes."

"Did you want to talk about the PSA?" Ross asked, sitting down beside her on the couch. "I don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow, so we can wait if you want."

"Yeah, I just want a quiet night. No work."

Ross nodded, "So dinner and a movie?"

"And you," Blake grabbed at the bag of food, which happened to be on the other side of Ross, causing her to straddle him, her shirt riding up.

"I should get us some plates," Ross offered.

"No," Blake nuzzled his ear lobe.

"We're not animals," Ross joked, turning his head to give her better access to his neck.

"Later," Blake growled.

"I thought you were hungry?"

"I am."

Ross captured her mouth with his and nibbled on her bottom lip. He used his hands to explore her back, the shirt she was wearing having ridden up even more. As he moved his hand towards her front, he paused, lifting his head up, breaking the kiss. "What's this?" He asked, caressing the new found bump on her belly.

"Happened this morning. Can't button my pants anymore. NIne weeks is a little early to be showing, but you really can't see it under my clothes," Blake replied, loving how fascinated he was with her baby bump.

"Thank you," Ross uttered.

"For what?" Blake asked, confused. Ross was staring down at her belly, then looked up with tears in his eyes.

"For letting me in on this experience. For letting me be part of the pregnancy. For being here, with me. For being you..."

"Oh Ross," Blake sympathized. She knew how much Vanessa had hurt him by not telling him about Dinah. "I want you here every step of the way. I have an ultrasound scheduled in three weeks. I want you there."

Ross responded with fierce kiss and no more was said for quite a while.

"So," Blake began, once she's caught her breath, "I think we should tell Samantha what's been going on."

"Are you sure?" Ross leaned back, pulling Blake towards him, slowly rubbing his hands over her stomach, fascinated.

"Yeah, it'll be good to have someone to talk about all this with. Girl talk. You have a campaign appearance in Chicago next weekend, right?"

"Ummhmm," Ross muttered.

"Well, I need some maternity clothes, and I'm _not_ shopping in Springfield. And something for the ball. I'll be 15 weeks by then and at the rate this little nugget is growing, I'll need a formal maternity dress. Maybe Sam and I can join you in Chicago. We'll go shopping, you go campaigning, we'll let Samantha in on our little secret. It'll be fun and no one would question us together if Samantha is there."

"It's not a bad idea," Ross agreed. "I was planning on hiring a car to take me, instead of driving in the city. A limo's not much more."

"Ohh, a limo," Blake drawled.

"Yup, just me, you, and Sammy," Ross burst her thought.

_To be continued..._


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Monday, August 24, 1992_

The weekend passes quickly. Too quickly for Blake, who was enjoying Ross's pampering. He'd agreed to appear in the childhood vaccination PSA, which would be shooting on Wednesday.

Leo was out on bail and had begun campaigning again, his pending trial date set for after the election. Ross had allowed the judge to set the date of the trial, not wanting the DA's office to appear to have undue influence on the case. Leo's poll numbers, however, were in the toilet, and Ross was confident as the month of August was drawing to a close.

Blake hadn't decided yet, whether to tell Roger that Holly was in Santo Domingo or not. She'd consulted Ed, who was unsure as well. She had Frank keeping his eye on Holly's credit card purchases. Recent purchases for a hotel stay and a few dinners relieved Blake, a little.

Ross had planned a lunch meeting with Ed at the hospital on Monday. He had yet to talk to him about his and Blake's relationship and Ross felt it was about time to face the music, so to speak.

"Ross! Come on in. I was just finishing up a chart on a patient," Ed greeted.

"Ed," Ross nodded, closing the office door and having a seat, feeling a bit like a young man on a first date, meeting her father.

Ross started to speak and Ed stopped him, a hand held up, "I just want you to know one thing," Ed began, "If you hurt her, intentionally, I will hunt you down and kill you. I don't care if you're a US Senator or not."

"Fair enough," Ross agreed. "I love her, I have no intention of hurting her."

"Have you told her that?"

"Not in so many words, no," Ross shook his head.

"You should do that. Blake's the kind of person who needs reassurance. She hasn't had much of that in her life. This whole thing, it's surprising, but part of me thinks you're good for Blake. You're the first decent man she's been with. Phillip treated her like crap from the minute they were married, though Blake didn't do herself any favors with her scheming. And Alan-Michael…" Ed shook his head.

"Alan-Michael, I'd like to tar and feather him for hurting her so badly. That's where it all started with us, just talking. Blake was so vulnerable and just needed someone to listen without judging her like Holly was doing. It all just happened so slowly. She started flirting, I tried to stop her, but I found myself falling for her. I couldn't help myself."

"And this isn't just about the pregnancy?"

"No," Ross shook his head. "I'll admit, the baby probably had us moving faster into a relationship than I'd imagined. I'd hurt her, so wrapped up in the campaign, that I couldn't imagine the voters being okay with me in a relationship with someone like Blake. When Holly mentioned Blake being miserable because she'd broken up with her boyfriend? That was me. I was an ass to her."

"The night she got into the car accident with Leo? I'd told Holly that I wasn't interested in her as more than a friend, and I'd intended to go back to the Towers to talk with Blake and apologize, before we got the phone call to come to the hospital. I overheard you ask Blake about the baby in the hospital room, but I'd already decided that I wanted to make things work with Blake, damned the consequences. There's just something about her, about _us_, together. I don't know how to explain it."

"Are you planning on going public?" Ed questioned.

"I wanted to. Blake's the one who's hesitant. So far, only you know. Though I suspect that Samantha is starting to realize. She actually tried to set us up the other day at lunch! Blake's planning on taking her shopping in Chicago this weekend while I have my campaign appearances and we're going to tell her. I think if we let a few people in on it, it won't seem so untoward."

Ed agreed, "I don't think the public reaction will be near as bad as Blake thinks. Of course some people in Springfield might be a problem, but how many people outside of this town really know who Blake is? You're both consenting adults, neither one of you are married. It's not really a scandal unless you look like you're hiding something."

"Thank you, Ed. Would you mind repeating that for Blake in the near future?"

Ed laughed, "I'll give her a call tonight. Has Blake said anything about whether or not she decided to tell Roger? About me, I mean. Telling Roger about you and Blake might be suicidal."

"No, though she hasn't said anything about Roger since the incident a couple of weeks ago."

Ed nodded, Blake having told him what had happened during a lunch with her and Sara McIntyre. "Is she talking to Sara about it?" Ed was concerned about her holding feelings about the incident inside.

"Yes, though she's still having a nightmare here and there."

"I think the quicker she tells Roger, the better. Like ripping off a band-aid. Maybe he'll leave town," Ed joked. "Speaking of that, I got a letter from Holly this morning."

"Oh?"

"I won't bore you with the details, but she plans to stay away for a long while. She wants to sort through her feelings about the whole mess. She sent me information to pass along to Blake about the mortgage to the house and put Blake's name on her WSPR holdings."

Ross groaned, "Hopefully Blake won't have to deal with any of the WSPR issues. I don't want her coming in contact with Roger more than necessary."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Spaulding Enterprises_

_Monday, August 24, 1992_

Blake sauntered up to the executive floor of Spaulding Enterprises. She had a new dress that disguised her baby bump perfectly but still made her feel sexy. She had a meeting scheduled with Alan-Michael about the Fundraiser. Spaulding was one of the major corporate sponsors for the 10k and kids fun-run and she wanted to nail down the financial details.

Alan-Michael's secretary told Blake she could wait in the office, that Alan-Michael would be there shortly. Blake strode confidently into the office and had a seat on the couch. She'd wondered why Vanessa hadn't taken over the office, since she's become president of Spaulding. God knows she would have moved in the very second the Dragon Lady left town.

After waiting fifteen minutes for Alan-Michael to show up, Blake was beginning to get annoyed. Patience was not a virtue for her these days and besides, she really had to had to pee. Blake stood up and headed for the door, to ask his secretary when they might expect the great Mr. Spaulding, when Vanessa came in the door.

"Blake," Vanessa looked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I have, had a meeting with Alan-Michael about the Cedar's fundraiser, but he's a no-show," Blake explained, irritated.

"Oh, I haven't seen him all day, I afraid," Vanessa's voice just grated on her nerves. Blake had gone to boarding school with girls like her. Girls who's practiced day and night to perfect their voices so that they would sound superior to others. Okay, maybe she just disliked Vanessa in general. She's never really like her, but after hearing Ross's side of things when it came to Dinah, she downright despised Vanessa.

"I didn't know WSPR was involved in the fundraiser this year?" Vanessa cooed.

"Oh, I'm not working for WSPR anymore. I'm the head of PR at Cedar's. I also hold a seat on the Fundraising Board," Blake corrected Vanessa.

"Oh my. Well, my congratulations to you on your new job. Can I help? I'm am, after all, the President of Spaulding."

'And who am I to waste an opportunity,' thought Blake.

"Well, as you must know, Cedar's fundraiser this year will be a 10k race, a children's fun-run, with some kids activities at the park, as well as a Ball. Billy has the Towers sponsoring the Ball, Lewis Oil was _very_ generous, and Alan-Michael promised Spaulding as the premier corporate sponsor for the race activities."

"Yes, that sounds like something we'd be interested in," mused Vanessa.

'Good, because you already agreed, I just came for the check!' Blake bitched to herself. Out loud she answered, "Great! I thought you'd be interested in what the focus for the fundraiser was this year."

"Oh?" Vanessa feigned interest.

"Yes, the major focus this year is funding the Family Crisis Center. You know, they'll provide services for the entire family of victims of abuse, rape, domestic violence. Counseling, medical services, social workers, and even legal services. The more money raised, the more we can do. There's talk of including counseling and medical services for young women who might find themselves facing an unexpected pregnancy. You know, helping them discuss their options with their families, the baby's father, help them make decisions as a family, so they have support. Ross even have the DA's office collaborating." Blake elaborated.

"Oh," responded Vanessa. "I'm not much into the political aspects of those things, but I do think that Spaulding would be interested in making that try to happen."

"Great! I think it helps to have donors who are intimately familiar with some of the things these women and their families have been through. I know first hand how, sometimes, the families, the children, don't always receive the help they need. They may not have gone through the trauma, but it still affects them, especially when the adults around don't talk to them about what's going on." Blake confided.

Blake had so wanted to get a dig into Vanessa about how she didn't tell Ross about having his child, but her heart was telling her that Vanessa needed to hear that her son needed some help, too. Michelle had spoken to Blake at length about how worried she was about Little Bill.

"Really?" Vanessa actually seemed interested in what Blake had said.

"Yes. I know I was only 5, when...it happened to my mother. No one would say anything. I remember just being passed around between my grandparents and Ed, not sure what was going on. I had gone to school that morning and everything was different when Bert picked me up. I remember Roger sneaking around to see me, and never understood why Ed was so mad at him. Adults would stop talking when I came into the room. I know I was too young to understand what rape was, but if they had just said that Roger had hurt my mother, things would have made way more sense. Though, older children really need to be able to talk through their feelings about it. I was messed up for years. Maybe I still am."

"Blake? Thank you...for sharing that with me. I know it must have been hard. I know we've never really gotten along, but...thank you." Vanessa wasn't sure what else to say. She knew Blake may have been hinting about Little Bill and she'd take her advice.

"Vanessa, I do want to say...you...may not want to hear this, but...working at WSPR, being privy to your story, watching Ross and my mom deal with some of their feelings about the past, it really helped me...deal...with some of the feelings I had about my mother's rape. It never seemed real to me. Mom never talked about it. I actually found out from an old newspaper article when I was 16."

"I'm not sure what to say. I guess I'm glad that my going public helped at least one person." Vanessa answered awkwardly.

"Anyway, thanks. I'll get in contact with Alan-Michael about the fundraiser." Blake was beginning to get uncomfortable. She and Vanessa had never been close and she's just revealed some pretty big things to her. Besides, she still really had to pee.

_To be continued..._


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Springfield Park_

_Wednesday, August 26, 1992_

On Wednesday morning, Ross found himself standing in front of the creek in the park that was in front of Cedar's Hospital. Blake had thought this was the perfect spot to shoot the PSA. Cedar's could be seen clearly in the background, but the creek, with the creekbed sided in red brick with a lovely walking bridge, made for the perfect backdrop.

Blake had roped Gilly and a cameraman from WSPR to shoot the footage. Of course, WSPR was donating their time to the hospital. Blake had signed off on it, without consulting Roger, given that her mother had handed Blake power over her shares in the television station.

They had shot a few takes, Ross growing more comfortable with each cut. She preferred the more casual Ross Marler, knowing that he just had to have some time to become relaxed. He didn't like shooting take after take, but it always made for a better product.

Blake asked for one more shot, moving the cameraman around to a different angle, when she spotted something moving in the water by the bridge. Shifting toward the bridge, she could now hear the distinct sounds of whining over the rush of the water. It appeared to be a dog, stuck on something near the bridge. A grate perhaps?

She didn't think twice before climbing into the creek and moving towards the dog, ignoring the calls from Ross and Gilly, wondering what was going on.

"BLAKE!" Ross cried out. As he approached the side of the creek, he could see why Blake had gone in. She was struggling to get a dog free of a storm grate under the bridge. The grate was designed to keep debris from washing down the creek. Usually, it would be cleared periodically, but it looked like it had been a while since the last cleaning and debris was piled up.

Ross jumped down without a second thought. He approached Blake and the dog, yelling, "Blake, I've got it, you get out before you hurt yourself."

Gilly, up on the bank, whispered the the cameraman, "Keep rolling. This is news gold!"

"NO!" Blake shouted. "I think his paw is stuck on something. He's barely keeping his head above water."

Ross instructed, "Hold his head up," then dove under the water to free the paw." It didn't take long to free him, the dogs long nails were stuck on a piece of grating. Once Ross pulled the paw free, the dog paddled up the creek, pulled itself onto the bank, barking emphatically.

Ross grinned at the two of them, still in the creek, while the dog was up on dry land. He grabbed Blake by the waist and pulled her over to the bank, hissing, "We'll discuss this later." Gilly helped them both climb out, while a jogger passing by offered them his meager towel to help dry off.

The dog, a medium sized, shaggy, all black mutt, was prancing and barking in front of them and the cameraman as they tried in vain to dry their soaking clothes.

"Gilly, I think that's a wrap for today," Ross declared. "Blake, can I give you a ride home? I'm having my car detailed this weekend while I'm away, so we might as well just get one car wet."

"Sure,' responded Blake, knowing that Ross wouldn't take no for an answer and not wanting to cause a scene.

Gilly started packing up, but the cameraman was still surreptitiously filming as Ross and Blake walked towards the parking lot, the dog bounding after them.

Blake slid into the passenger seat of Ross's sedan, joking, "Good thing I didn't wear a dress today. Though these pants are hanging on by a rubber band!"

Ross, wisely didn't say a word, still standing outside the car with the drivers door open. Blake couldn't tell if he was mad, irritated, or what. The dog continued barking and dancing on Ross's side of the car. "Oh, alright," Blake heard Ross give in to the dog, opening the door to the back seat. The dog happily hopped in, gave Blake a large lick and settled down onto the back seat, licking at its fur like a cat.

Blake glanced at the dog, then at Ross, smiling. "Not a word," Ross grumbled, "Not. A. Word."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Wednesday, August 26, 1992_

Ross brought Blake to her place, so that she could change into some dry clothes. Ross had a change of clothes in his trunk. The dog came inside with them and proceeded to make itself at home by the fireplace. By the time they had changed, Ross had insisted they shower after being in the dirty creek water, Blake had made it up to Ross and then some.

Blake insisted that they take the dog to the vet, just to make sure it was alright. Ross agreed, though, he was hoping the vet would know if someone had lost a dog matching its description. The vet took a look at the dog and declared him healthy, though he clipped the long nails that had caused the dog to get hung up on the grate. The vet asked Blake and Ross if they intended to keep the dog or take it to the animal shelter.

"I'm keeping him," Blake declared, daring Ross to say otherwise.

Ross responded with a sigh, knowing Blake would get her way, "Make sure he has all his shots." The vet nodded and prepared the vaccinations.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Thursday, August 27, 1992_

RING, RING...RING, RING…

"Hello," Blake groaned into the phone. It was six o'clock in the morning and she'd spent most of the night making it up to Ross for jumping into the creek after the dog. She found that Ross wasn't as much upset about the dog coming home with them, as he was upset about her jumping into the creek without thinking.

"Blake!" Came the shrill voice of Nadine through the phone line. 'She might just be more irritating over the phone' thought Blake. As if reading her thoughts, Ross grabbed a pillow and shoved it over his face.

"Good morning, Nadine. To what do I owe this wake-up call?" Blake tried to sound polite, but was failing miserably.

"We'll, I was just catching the re-run of the evening news, and, well you know, I had a busy night and didn't catch it last night. Billy took me out to the wonderful little out of the way italian place. Have you hear of it? It's just off Route 20, near…"

"Nadine!" Blake interrupted. "What. Do. You. Want," she asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh, well. I just wanted to see if you and Ross would make an appearance on my talk show this morning. I mean, it's such as great thing, what you two did. So unusual, but then again special things almost always are."

"What?" Blake asked, confused. "What did Ross and I do?" At this statement, Ross sat up in bed, alarmed.

"Well, rescue the dog, of course. They ran the footage on the evening news. The station has just been getting call after call about it."

"So you want us on your talk show because we rescued a dog?" Blake asked doubtfully, but also clarifying for a panicked Ross.

"Oh, yes. I called Ross first, but he didn't answer. I swear that man's a workaholic. Never got him to relax much in the time I dated him. I mean…"

Blake cut off Nadine, "What time?" She knew from experience, Nadine was like a dog with a bone. Sometimes it was just easier and less painful to give in _fast_. Besides, it would help Ross's vote with the animal lover crowd.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_WSPR_

_Thursday, August 27, 1992_

"Good Morning Springfield!" Nadine greeted the cameras. "On today's show we have Springfield's own Senatorial Candidate Ross Marler and Ms. Blake Thorpe!"

"If you didn't catch the news last night, Ms. Thorpe and Mr. Marler rescued an endangered dog that was trapped in a raging river! We have exclusive footage of the rescue here at WSPR."

As the footage of the rescue played, Ross shifted in the seat next to Blake. Nadine had placed them both on the awkwardly small love seat, and the dog had jumped up and seated itself on Blake's lap. Blake relaxed perceptively once the dog had made itself comfortable. At ten weeks, her belly was hit or miss on whether it would show through her dress and sitting down usually made it more obvious.

"So, Ms. Thorpe," Nadine started.

"Please, call me Blake," she insisted, not wanting to be associated with Roger more than necessary.

"Okay, Blake. Tell us, what made you go in after the dog?"

"Well, I just saw that the dog was in need of help and didn't think twice," Blake stated plainly.

"Oh, that's mighty brave of you. And Mr. Marler," Nadine paused, thinking that Ross would follow Blake's lead in asking her to use his given name.

"...what were you thinking when you went in after Blake and the dog?"

"I was thinking that they needed help and I wasn't about the let Blake get hurt," Ross answered directly.

"Oh, well, that's very sweet of you, isn't it? Blake, you told me before the show that you were planning on keeping the dog if the owner doesn't claim him?"

"Yes, that's right. This lovable stray spent all night warming my bed," Blake said with a hedonistic smile. Ross choked back a snort.

"And have you decided to name him?" Nadine inquired, the inside joke having passed over her head.

"Yes, I'm naming him Blackout," Blake replied seriously. Ross was barely holding on, trying not to laugh.

"Blackout, now that's an unusual name. Tell me about it."

"Well, he is all black and I just thought it was a nice remembrance for all the victims of the Springfield Blackout in July. Some of those people's lives were changed forever."

Nadine nodded solemnly along with Blake's words, oblivious to Ross's torment.

Nadine wrapped up the segment and Blake and Ross moved off the set. Roger, standing behind the camera, grabbed Blake's arm and pulled her away to a corner. Ross, seeing this, stood watchful, but didn't interfere. Blackout, the dog, growled lowly in Roger's direction. "Good boy," Ross whispered.

"Chrissy, playing rescue the dog with Marler? What were you thinking?" Roger hissed. "This just makes him more appealing to the public. Leo's numbers are still down, but they're creeping their way up."

"Dad," said Blake, ripping her arm out of his. "We're not playing this game anymore." Blake walked away from Roger, grabbed the proffered leash from Ross and walked out of the studio.

_To be Continued..._


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_Blake's House_

_Friday, August 28, 1992_

The limo pulled up to Blake's house Friday evening. Blake had gone home to pack after work. Ross was to pick up Samantha and then drive over to pick up Blake. She had her bag ready at the door and the limo driver took the suitcase and loaded it into the trunk. Ross met her at the door to the limo, smiling.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be," Blake answered. Ross allowed Blake to get in the Limo first and she took a seat beside Samantha. Before Ross could get in, Blackout bounded into the car.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Ross protested sliding in the car. "The dog is _not_ going with us!"

"His name is Blackout," Blake reminded him, "and why not?" she pouted.

Ross looked flustered, but before he speak, Blake let out a large belly laugh. "I'm just kidding, we need to drop him off at Ed's. I didn't have time this morning."

Ross let out a relieved sigh and closed the door. "Good evening, Blackout," Ross greeted the dog. Blackout let out a large bark in response and proceeded to curl up next to Ross and lay his head on his lap.

"Aww, he likes you," Blake teased.

"What's not to like," Ross quipped. Ross gave the driver Ed's address and the limo pulled away.

"Such a curious name, Blackout," Samantha spoke. "Why did you decided on that name?" Without knowing it, Samantha provided an opening for Ross and Blake to reveal what had been going on between them.

Blake wasn't sure where to begin, so she went with her usual, shock value. Blake moved her hand over her belly, pulling the dress taut around her bump, revealing with a smile, "That's the night this happened!"

Samantha was speechless, her mouth opening and closing alternately as she thought of something to say and then rejected it.

"Sammy, close your mouth, you look like a fish," Ross jested, petting Blackout calmly, who was starting to whimper.

"You're pregnant?" Samantha exclaimed, then slapped her hand over her mouth as she thought better of it.

"Well, I'm not getting fat," Blake cracked, trying to alleviate Samantha's embarrassment.

"Oh, wow! I didn't know you were seeing anyone," Samantha began to ramble. "I mean, not that you need to be dating anyone to have a baby. Oh god, I mean, oh I always put my foot in my mouth. I mean, that's so exciting, I love babies. I could be like an honorary aunt! I don't mind babysitting. Oh, we could go shopping for baby clothes in Chicago!"

"Cousin," Ross interjected.

Samantha swung her head towards Ross, cutting off her babble, "Huh?"

"Cousin, you would be the baby's cousin, not aunt," Ross explained matter of factly, trying not to laugh at Samantha's confusion.

"Cousin? I don't understand. If the baby was my cousin, that would mean that," she swung her head back and forth from Blake to Ross, looking much like she was watching a tennis match.

Blake gave in first, laughing, "Yes, Ross is the baby's father."

"What? How? I mean, I know _how_, but how?" Samantha asked.

"Blake and I have been seeing each other for a few months. Most of the summer. The baby was a happy accident." Ross didn't see the need in explaining the details of how the relationship got started to Samantha. Only Ed knew, and he wasn't going to go around town blabbing. Samantha could be a loose cannon sometimes, though. "We're not keeping it a secret, per se, but but we're not announcing it to the world."

Samantha lay back against the seat, smiling. "I knew there was something, I knew it!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Chicago_

_Saturday, August 29, 1992_

They dropped off Blackout at Ed's house and spent the drive to Chicago chatting about where they would go shopping, Ross's plans for his campaign appearances, and Blake and Samantha's new jobs. Blake was relieved the Samantha was seemingly okay with her and Ross's relationship and the baby. She hated to lose a new friend over the issue. She didn't have much, if any, friends at the moment.

The next morning, Blake and Samantha headed out to the stores on Michigan Avenue, because, after all, if you're going to bother going all the way to Chicago, you _have_ to shop on Michigan Avenue. Samantha had never been to Michigan Avenue, and Blake was surprised, considering Phillip had taken her there more than once, before they were married. They'd planned to meet Ross at Navy Pier in the afternoon, as it was close to his last campaign rally.

Samantha and Blake had a blast. Their first stop had them looking through a baby boutique and picking out two adorable outfits, one for a boy and one for a girl. Blake knew she could always use the other one as a shower gift for someone.

Blake asked Samantha to help her find some maternity clothes that would help hide the baby bump for the next few weeks, but not look too frumpy. She still cringed, thinking of the clothing that Meredith had worn when she was pregnant with Phillip's child. The mere thought of the peter-pan collars made her shudder.

"What do you think about this," Samantha held up a crushed velvet maternity top that flared out wide at the waist.

"It looks like a tent that Elton John might sleep in when he goes camping," Blake cracked. "Think Demi Moore, not Sarah Ferguson. I don't plan on hiding the pregnancy much longer. I doubt I'll be able to go much past September. I want to look like a hot pregnant babe, not a frumpy housewife."

Samantha nodded and continued looking. "What about the Ball? It's when, the first weekend of October?"

Blake nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to get a nice gown, but it will most definitely need to be a maternity dress. I'll be just about four months by then."

The girls took a break to have lunch and resumed some shopping, this time, looking for clothes for Samantha.

"You have to try this on," Blake insisted. "It will be perfect for the Ball." While Samantha was great at picking out stylish, yet conservative work clothes, it was the rest of her wardrobe that needed some work. Blake had found out that Samantha hadn't been on a date for quite a while, as the end of law school and studying for the bar took up most of her Spring and Summer.

"Oh, no Blake, I don't think so," Samantha hesitated.

"Trust me. Go," Blake commanded. Samantha took the dress to the dressing room, knowing she'd never win.

Samantha came out of the dressing room and did a twirl or two. "Oh, that's _perfect_!" Blake looked to the salesgirl and said, "We'll take it!"

"Blake…" Samantha protested. "Who am I going to wear this for anyway. The only person who's flirted with me in the last month is Max, the bartender at Towers. And I think he was only doing that to get close to you."

"Oh, I doubt that. Besides, Max knows I'm pregnant. The bartender is always the first to know! You should ask him out!" Blake encouraged.

""He's already going to be there...as the _bartender_," Samantha reminded Blake.

"Oh, didn't think of that," Blake paused for a beat. "Well, how 'bout some rich, handsome doctor at Cedar's? You could just hang around the nurses station and see who pops up?"

"Ha! I'm pretty sure the youngest doctor I've seen around lately is Dr. Bauer!"

Blake popped her head up from the rack she was looking at, an idea springing to mind. "I know the _perfect_ date. And he's single. And he's a doctor. And he'll be in town for the Ball! Come on!" Blake grabbed Samantha's hand and dress bag that the salesgirl was holding up.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Blake, why are we at a hospital?" Samantha whined.

"We're gonna get you a doctor!" Blake approached the nurses station and asked, "Is Dr. Rick Bauer working today?"

"Who wants to know?" The old nurse looked down on Blake, eyeing the pregnant belly that she hadn't bothered to hide while they were shopping in Chicago.

"I'm his sister. We're in town for the weekend, and I couldn't get ahold of him at his place," Blake sweet talked the nurse.

"I'll page him," the nurse relented.

A few minutes later, Rick appeared, wearing a pair of blue scrubs and a white lab coat. His hair was shorter than she's last seen it. It looked so much better than that shaggy mop he used to wear.

"Blake!" Rick leaned in for a hug. "What are you doing here? And," he did a double take, "Sam?"

"Hi," Samantha answered shyly.

"We came to town for a girls' shopping trip. Well, we hitched a ride with Ross, since he had some campaign rallies in the city this weekend."

"And you came over to visit your dear old brother? I'm touched." Rick jested. Ed called Rick and told him about the paternity test a few weeks ago. Since then, Blake and Rick had talked on the phone several times, mending fences. They were once very good friends, but the issues with Phillip, Beth, Alan-Michael, Neil, and Gary had caused a rift.

"Wait," Samantha interrupted, "your brother? Oh, you mean step-brother, since Ed was your step-dad."

"Nope, real brother. Well, half-brother. I guess I forgot to tell you," Blake apologized. "I found out that Ed is actually my real father last month. Though, don't tell anyone else. We're keeping it in the family for now."

"So, sis? I think you forgot to tell me some pretty important news over the phone." Rick looked pointedly down at Blake's baby bump.

"Oh! Yup, I'm pregnant! Ten weeks today, actually. It's still something we're keeping under wraps for the moment. Ed knows, but I don't think Maureen or Michelle know yet."

"We?" Rick questioned.

Blake blushed a bit, wondering if she should answer. Knowing Rick was far away from Springfield, but also knowing he was coming to town for the Ball, Blake hesitated.

"Uncle Ross is the baby's father. I'm going to be a cousin!" Blabbed Samantha who promptly covered her mouth.

"Sam," Blake hissed.

"Sorry," Samantha whispered. "I get loquacious when I'm nervous."

"Uncle Ross? As in Ross Marler? As in senatorial candidate Ross Marler? As in dad's best friend Ross Marler? As in your mother's ex-fiance Ross Marler? As in…"

"Okay, we get your point, Rick. Yes, Ross Marler. We've been involved for a couple of months. We're just keeping things quiet, because, well, you just said it. Dad knows, though. And he's happy about it, so just, there." Blake finished, sticking her tongue out at her older brother. "And it's a real baby this time!" Blake added with a flare, knowing how Rick felt about her fake pregnancy to marry Alan-Michael.

"Aww, sis, you never cease to entertain. You should write a novel about you life. It'd be a best seller." Rick put one arm around Blake's shoulders and the other around Samantha's. "You ladies have dinner yet? I just got off my shift."

Samantha felt a bit giddy at Rick's casual touch, but answered confidently, "We're meeting Uncle Ross at Navy Pier, if you want to join us?"

"Sure, let me change real quick and grab my things." Rick headed for the doctor's lounge.

"I'm sorry," whispered Samantha again.

"It's okay, since it's Rick, but please be more careful," warned Blake.

"He just made me nervous." Samantha looked to be sweating a bit.

Blake smiled, thinking that it was cute, seeing Samantha all flustered over a guy. She remembered how cute it was when Sam was trying to flirt with Frank before her wedding to Phillip. "He's Rick. Goofy, but lovable doctor. Your brother's best friend, well, used to be your brother's best friend. You've known him forever." Blake tried to calm Samantha's nerves.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Rick came back, they took the limo down to Navy Pier, the driver pulling up close to where the rally had taken place. The driver handed Blake a large Nokia cell phone so that they could call when they needed the limo to pick them up.

Samantha spotted Ross, talking to a small crowd of people near the stage. They approached, but hung back, allowing Ross to talk to his _constituents_. That term always made Blake giggle a bit, as Ross had referred to her as a constituent that he was "doing all he could for", during the blackout. 'He sure made good on that campaign promise,' Blake thought, rubbing her belly.

"Blake," Rick nudged her, speaking quietly. "Do you see who that is? At least I think it's her." He discretely pointed to a women standing close, but not in the crowd of supporters talking to Ross.

Blake covertly glanced in the direction Rick pointed, seeing the women. She was vaguely familiar, but Blake couldn't put her finger on where she knew her from. "Who is she?"

"Step-mommy dearest," Rick sneered.

"Rita?" Blake gasped. "I was half sure that Roger had killed her after Mike had told me a few years ago that she disappeared after she left town and no one could find her."

"Wanna mess around with her a bit?" Rick whispered a plan in Blake's ear.

"You're bad," murmured Blake.

"You're worse," Rick countered.

"I'm pretty sure she killed my dog," Blake offered.

"She sent me off to boarding school," Rick tried to one-up her.

"Poor baby," Blake cooed sarcastically. Neither Rick, nor Blake were really aware of any of the events in Rita's life, save for how she treated her step-children with resentment.

Rick put his arm around Blake's shoulder and both walked up to Rita. Ross was surprised to see Rick and noticed he and Blake walking up to a woman in the crown. Samantha was standing awkwardly to the side.

"Rita? Is that you?" Rick questioned cheerily. Rita looked up at the couple approaching her.

"It is her! See I told you so, Freddy," Blake chimed in.

"You were right Chrissy!"

"Do I know you?" asked Rita, puzzled.

"How could you ever forget us? It's me, Freddy Bauer and my step-sister Christina!"

"Oh, Freddy, Christina? I didn't recognize you, all grown up. H-h-how have you been?" Rita stuttered.

By this time, Ross had made his way closer, hearing the conversation.

"Oh, I'm doing alright. Boarding school was a nightmare so I dropped out when I was 17. Been bumming around the country ever since, you know, playing my tunes. Just livin'. Ya know?" Rick's voice took on a hippie-like quality.

"Oh, that sounds...nice." Rita replied.

"Yah," answered Rick, nodding his head like a stoner.

"And Christina? How are you?" Rita tried to sound polite.

"Wonderful!" Blake gushed. "I've just spent my life, looking for love, you know? After my dog, Missyou, disappeared, I just felt lost, you know? Lookin' for love in all the wrong places. After my affair with Alan Spaulding didn't work out, I married his son Phillip. That didn't work out too well either, to tell you the truth. Dead girlfriend, turned up alive, you know the drill. But you know those Spauldings, can't live with them, yadda, yadda, yadda. Married Phillip's brother, Alan-Michael, after I faked being pregnant. He's Hope's son, you know. Well I guess that makes him my second cousin or is it first cousin once removed?" Blake paused to look at Rick who shrugged and looked at the clouds like they were telling him the secrets of the universe.

"We'll anyway. Love, in all the wrong places, you know. At least _this_ baby is the real deal this time," Blake rubbed her belly, smiling.

"That's enough, you two." Ross approached.

"What!" Blake protested. "You can't make this stuff up," she shook her head and smiled, though Rick looked properly chastised.

"Ross Marler," Rita stated angrily. "I was passing through Chicago and saw one of you campaign posters. You can't be serious. How could they let such a despicable man run for senate?" Rita turned in a huff and walked away from the threesome.

Ross looked shocked. He wasn't used to people, other than Roger, bringing up his past actions. Blake giggled, "Now, aren't you mad you stopped us? She was an awful step-mother. Sometimes, she would tell me to take the dog out and then lock the door so I couldn't come back in. Called me the devil's child when Ed's wasn't around."

"She sent me off to boarding school," whined Rick. Blake elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

Ross looked up towards the sky and sighed to himself, 'Life with Blake would be anything but boring.'

"So, dinner? Making out on the ferris wheel? I definitely want some cotton candy. Ooh, and something fried...on a stick!" Blake pulled Ross and Rick back over towards Samantha.

They all enjoyed the late August afternoon, exploring Navy Pier. Blake even made Rick think it was _his_ idea to ask Samantha to the Fundraiser Ball.

_To be continued..._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_Blake's House_

_Sunday, August 30, 1992_

They arrived back at Blake's house late Sunday night after dropping Samantha off at her apartment. Blake was grateful the weekend went well and that Samantha, and now Rick, were both accepting of the relationship and baby with Ross.

Ross put their luggage at the entrance to the hallway and took a seat on the couch, exhausted. Blake clicked the blinking answering machine as she kicked off her shoes.

"Blake! I need your help with something, call me!" Came the the panicked sounding voice of Alan-Michael. Blake glanced at Ross, who shrugged.

"I didn't know you two were on speaking terms?"

"We're not," insisted Blake, also confused as to why Alan-Michael was calling.

Blake clicked the next message button and again heard the same distressed voice, "Blake! Where are you? Look I really need you to call me. I'll be at the penthouse."

Still another message, "Blake! God, where are you? I'm at Cedars, I really need your help right now!"

Blake moved to put her shoes back on, intent on going to Cedars to see what Alan-Michael needed. It was instinct to run to help him out with whatever jam he's gotten himself into. Ross stood up as well, planning to follow Blake into whatever Alan-Michael's new crisis was. He didn't trust him, not as far as he could throw him, and certainly not with Blake.

Another message beeped after the last, "Blake, it's Ed. I know you're probably still in Chicago, but you need to get down to Cedars when you get back. We've got a PR nightmare on our hands. One of the patients, the car bombing victim that was with Mallet, she was kidnapped from the hospital."

Ross grabbed Blake's car keys from the end table, "Let's go. I have a feeling I have an identical message at home." The rushed out the door, both worried. Ross knew that he'd be up most of the night dealing with this as the DA and Blake was wondering how Alan-Michael got himself involved in this mess.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Author's note: Some of the dialog in this section is directly from the show from the September 9th and 10th episodes. The discussion between Alan-Michael and Blake was so good, I had to include it. A few necessary changes to the original plot were made, though._

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Sunday, August 30, 1992_

Blake and Ross arrived at Cedars and immediately found Ed, who explained that the women, the Jane Doe that was in the car explosion that had hurt Mallett, was currently missing. She was still in a coma, and it appeared that two orderlies, wearing fake Hospital ID's were responsible. Nick had found the discarded lab uniforms and ID's in the trash near the exit.

Ross stepped aside to speak to the police. Detective Levy and Harley were on the investigation. Blake spoke quickly to Ed and Dr. Grant about how they would handle the press. Blake wanted to get the hospital's lawyers involved, as it appeared to be an inside case.

As Blake stepped aside to call Samantha, Alan-Michael, who'd been lurking near the elevators, grabbed Blake's arm and dragged her down the hallway. Harley, ever the observant one, noticed the two exes slip into the on-call room.

"What, Alan-Michael?" Blake spat, twisting her arm out of his grasp.

"I'm so glad you're here. I need your help," Alan-Michael begged, seemingly out of breath.

Blake's eyes shot open, the realization hit her. "You had something to do with that woman being smuggled out of here, didn't you Alan Michael?"

"Me, don't be ridiculous," he scoffed.

"Oh, come on, Some woman gets taken from the hospital and you're in panic mode. I know when you're up to something. Who is she? Did you have something to do with the bombing?"

"No!" Alan-Michael vehemently denied. "Yes, I mean, no. It wasn't supposed to happen that way. That's not what I wanted. I just wanted her to go away."

"What have you done?" Blake gasped.

Alan-Michael fell against the doorway, running his hands through his hair and scrubbing them down his face. "I didn't mean for that to happen. The woman, she was blackmailing me."

"So you tried to have her killed?" Blake hypothesized loudly, aghast at what her ex-husband had done.

Alan-Michael clapped his hand over her mouth, "Shhh!" he hissed.

"What the hell was she blackmailing you over?" Blake questioned, stunned that Alan-Michael would do something so extreme.

Alan-Michael refused to answer.

"Look, if you want my help, you're going to tell me everything," Blake demanded.

He still remained silent.

"Okay, I'm outta here," Blake reached around him for the door. Alan-Michael grabbed her and pulled her back. Blake was shocked and a little afraid. "Start talking, or I scream!"

"Okay, okay. The woman, Musette. I hired her when I took Elanie to Paris. I hired her to get into Frank's bed and pretend that she was sleeping with him." Alan-Michael spat out, knowing Blake was going to be pissed as hell at him.

"She came to town a few weeks ago and started blackmailing me for more money. She wrote a letter to Elanie."

"So, you dump me and you destroyed Frank's life all at the same time. You know, you have been capable of some pretty nasty tricks in your time to get what you wanted, but this, this is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. Why?" Blake grilled him.

"I love her," Alan-Michael sighed.

"So I gather, do you _love_ her enough to _kill_ someone who would get in your way?" Blake accused.

"No!" he protested.

"There was a bomb planted in that woman's car. She almost died."

"Look, I never wanted this to happen, never." Alan-Michael shouted.

"You did it!" Blake realized, she hadn't wanted to believe it.

"No, no I didn't. No, somebody else did," he denied. "I never meant for this to happened this way I never wanted anyone to get hurt."

"Well, she did."

"Look, it's not my fault. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Alan-Michael sobbed. "What am I gonna do?"

"I don't know, but we're gonna get you out of here before anybody sees you like this." Blake grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door to the stairwell.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Okay," Harley summarized, "I'm going to interview everyone who was on the floor at the time. Levy, you look into the badges. They're hospital issue. Spaulding is the one that supplies them. I'm going to find Blake Thorpe to interview."

"Blake?" Ross inquired. "Blake wasn't here when it happened." He quickly added, "She got here at the same time as I did."

"No she wasn't, but Alan-Michael was, and I just saw her and Alan-Michael go into the on-call room. It looked pretty intense."

Ross whipped his head around towards the on-call room, just in time to see his lover dragging her ex-husband into the stairwell. Combined with Alan-Michael's messages to Blake, he knew, without a doubt that Alan-Michael was up to his eyeballs in this mess.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Alan-Michael leaned his head against the car seat. "I just had to get out of there."

Blake watched the windshield wipers unsuccessfully trying to clear away the downpour of rain, "You can't drive in this weather anyway."

"Even the weather's working against me," he sighed.

"What did you do Alan-Michael?"

"I couldn't tell Elanie about Paris, Blake, I can't, I won't lose her," he asserted.

"But that woman in the coma, she could have been killed!" Blake reminded him.

"And It wasn't my fault." Blake looked at him, doubtfully. "Come on, that was the...that's the absolute truth. I never, never intended to harm anyone. Somebody was working for me. He clearly misunderstood me, what I wanted him to do. And when I think about all the harm that it did, that he caused. Think about Mallet," Alan-Michael fretted.

Blake, thinking of her intimate relationship with Ross, the district attorney, begged, "Oh, you know, maybe you shouldn't be telling me all of this."

"Blake, I have to talk to somebody about this, I feel like I've been running around in a nightmare for the past few days. I never...I never intended for this to happen this way. Nobody was supposed to get hurt." He glanced over at Blake, who still had an uneasy look on her face. "You know Blake," he mused, "if you were working for me, this never would have happened. You would have been able to fix everything. You're the only one I can trust right now. I have never felt so alone in my entire life."

Blake started to feel sorry for Alan-Michael, he could always manage to reel her in, when it came to playing on her emotions.

"Do you believe what I told you?" he begged.

Blake gave in. "Yes, I do. You're capable of a lot, Alan-Michael, but I don't think you would deliberately hurt somebody."

"No, I wouldn't. I swear it," he reassured her.

"What are you gonna do if Elanie finds out about this?"

Alan-Michael vowed, "She won't. I won't let that happen."

"What have you done with the woman?"

"She's perfectly safe," he pronounced.

"She's supposed to be in the hospital," Blake argued.

"We'll she's going to be taken care of, alright. Believe me. Once she's well enough to travel, I'm going to have her shipped out of the country," Alan-Michael confided.

"What's to stop her from writing another letter or trying to contact Elanie?"

"Because, I'm going to give her a lot of money, which is what she wanted in the first place."

"Well, you gave her a lot of money before and she kept coming back," reminded Blake.

"We'll in light of everything that's happened, Blake, I think she's going to be a little too frightened to come back. When I think of, how that idiot I hired almost ruined everything."

"Well, I hope for your sake that this is the end of it."

"It is. It's been like a nightmare, Blake. All I ever wanted was Elanie, you know. All I wanted to do was make her happy. When she's in my arms, it's like nothing else matters," Alan-Michael reasoned.

Blake looked at him with wonder. "You really do love her, don't you?"

"She's so good, Blake. She's so good and she's honest," he mused. "And honesty is the one thing that she prizes above anything else. She has so many qualities that I admire, you know. Qualities that, I would like to think that I have, but I don't. You know what I mean?" Alan-Michael turned his head to look at Blake, knowing she would understand.

"Yeah, I do," Blake agreed, softly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you about Elanie."

"Well, I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but it's okay. You can talk about Elanie all you want. I understand." Blake suddenly had a clearer picture of why she and Alan-Michael would never have worked. "You know, when I think about, what we had before, we're just so much alike. It's like we validated each other's behavior."

"Yeah, It can't be so bad if she thinks it's okay."

"Exactly. Then you realize, what you really want in a person is somebody better than what you are. At least, what you think you are." Blake started thinking of how her attitude had changed because of Ross, "Somebody you can learn from, who brings out all the good parts in you. That you respect."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Alan-Michael look a touch mystified at Blake's understanding.

"The thing is, if they're so perfect, why would they want somebody who isn't?" Blake wondered.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Blake and Alan-Michael walked back into the hospital. Alan-Michael kissed her on the cheek and took off, trying to see what he could gather about how the investigation was going.

Blake stood, staring at the floor, wondering how she would handle this situation. Alan-Michael would be in some serious trouble if somebody found out, but she hated the thought of keeping this a secret from Ross.

Ross startled her out of her introspection, "Blake, what is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she brushed off.

"Where have you been?"

"Out driving."

Ross seemed surprised, wondering if she would tell him the truth, "In a storm?"

"I like storms," Blake smirked. "They energize me."

"Yes, I remember." Ross tested her, "Were you alone?"

"Yeah."

Ross's heart started to ache, she'd lied to him. "No you weren't. You were with Alan-Michael, " he corrected her.

Blake felt her stomach dropped, "So, why'd you ask me?" she immediately felt the need to put up a front.

"I was just curious as to what you would say. Why did you lie to me?" Ross's tone begging her to give him a good reason.

"Honest? I don't know," Blake was at a loss. "Just a nasty old habit I guess," she defended her choice to lie. "Oh come on Ross, don't be surprised. I'm just bad right?" Blake, knowing that she'd disappointed Ross, disparaged herself, before he could do it.

"Excuse me," Ross turned and walked away, knowing that they shouldn't deal with this right now, in the middle of the hallway at Cedar's.

"Ross!" Blake cried out, before realizing where she was. She turned and stood near the elevator, at a loss as to what would happen next. Blake sighed and punched the down button.

She'd made it down the elevator and out in the rain to her car before realizing that Ross had her car keys. Slamming her hand against the door of the car, she couldn't hold back the choking sobs. She slowly made her back to the overhang by the Emergency Room doors, her hair and her clothing now a sopping wet mess. 'How could I have screwed this up so badly,' she berated herself.

"Blake!"

Blake lifted her head and looked towards the voice, not believing her ears. "Ross!" she choked out.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Ross jogged over to her, lifting up her chin to meet his gaze.

"You...have...my...keys," Blake hiccuped, putting her hand out for them, demanding them, though she was still bawling.

"You're not driving in this condition!" Ross declared.

"I need...to g-g-o-o," she stammered, starting to shiver. "Let me go, Ross! You don't need someone like me hurting you."

"Blake," Ross protested. "So you lied to me? We'll go home, we'll fight about it, we'll get over it."

Blake looked at Ross as if he had grown an alien head. "That's it?"

"Of course that's it. We're grown-ups. We'll talk through our problems and we'll move on!" Ross explained.

"You mean, it's not over?" Blake said doubtfully.

"Of course it's not over," Ross assured Blake. At that, Blake grabbed Ross and kissed him fiercely, not caring who saw them.

Ross grabbed the back of Blake's head and deepened the kiss, pulling her closer, soaking his clothing in the process. "Let's go home," he said, breaking the kiss, breathless.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Sunday, August 30, 1992_

Ross pulled up to Blake's house and they walked into the living room in silence. The whole drive back from the hospital had been in silence, Ross not allowing Blake to speak, every time she attempted to apologize. "Wait until we get home," he shut her down gently.

"Look, I'm sorry I lied about being with Alan-Michael. I really have no idea why I lied. It's just second nature, I guess," Blake attempted to explain. "I'm sorry."

"Okay," Ross accepted. "Though I have a feeling you lied due to the nature of your conversation with Alan-Michael."

Blake wasn't sure how to respond. "You heard the answering machine message?"

"And Alan-Michael was at the hospital at the time the woman was kidnapped," Ross concluded.

"I can't...I can't tell you what we talked about." Blake paused. "Are you here as my lover or as the DA?" Blake asked suddenly.

"It's hard to separate the two," Ross answered truthfully.

"So, as a lawyer? Does spousal privilege extend to a divorced couple?" Blake wondered.

Ross replied carefully, "It can, in certain circumstances." He knew they might be wading into deep waters if Alan-Michael had anything to do with the kidnapped woman, or god forbid, the car bombing.

"So if, hypothetically," Blake started, but Ross interrupted her.

"I'm going to stop you right there, Blake," Ross jumped into DA mode. "You are not to say another word to me about this, not without a lawyer present, at least."

Blake protested, "I didn't do _anything_ illegal."

"I believe you, but we're not talking about this again. I'm trying to protect you. I'm setting up an appointment with a lawyer for you in the morning."

"But, Samantha?" Blake questioned.

"I have a feeling this is a bit beyond Sammy's abilities at the moment."

Blake nodded, wondering how this was going to affect them.

_To be continued..._


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

_Springfield Police Station_

_Tuesday, September 1, 1992_

Blake met with the lawyer that Ross set her up with first thing on Monday morning. Ross wanted to make sure that Blake was legally protected in case she was brought in for questioning. He was planning on passing the investigation to ADA Jim Haggerty, in order to remove any possible conflict of interest.

Ross was sure that Harley would dig into Alan-Michael's connection to the bombing and kidnapping. Harley wouldn't rest until she saw justice for A.C. Mallet's injuries. Since she had seen Blake and Alan-Michael talking, it was only time before she questioned Blake. Ross wanted Blake to be lawyered up by then.

Blake met with David Cole, an criminal defense attorney with whom Ross had gone to law school. She told him everything, under the shelter of attorney-client privilege, including her relationship with Ross and the conversation with Alan-Michael. Her attorney advised Blake to call him immediately if she were questioned and not to talk to anyone, including Ross, about anything remotely related to the case.

Ross's fears were founded when Harley asked Blake to meet her at the police station on Tuesday morning.

Ross was already at the station house visiting with Jim Haggerty and Detective Levy when Blake arrived at nine o'clock. Harley took her into the witness room, asking Ross if he was joining them. Ross shook his head, "ADA Haggerty will be in the room during questioning."

Harley look confused. 'Why would Ross have his assistant handle such an important case?' She and Haggerty sat down across from Blake. "I'm going to ask you a few questions regarding your conversation with Alan-Michael Spaulding that took place on Sunday night at Cedar's Hospital," Harley spoke formally.

"I'm not answering any questions without my lawyer present," Blake calmly replied, though inside, her heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Why would you need a lawyer? You haven't done anything wrong, have you?" Harley continued. Blake sat silently, staring down Harley.

Haggerty broke in, "She lawyered up Cooper, you can't continue questioning her." Haggerty was going to do this case by the book. He wanted a shot at the DA's office when Ross won the Senate Seat and some overly enthusiastic rookie cop wasn't going to mess it up.

Ross watched the proceedings from the observation room, glancing at his watch, knowing the Cole should be showing up soon.

At fifteen minutes past nine, Detective Levy brought Blake's lawyer into the interrogation room. "I'm assuming you have not been questioning my client without my presence?" David Cole was a gawky looking man, standing almost six and half feet tall, but spoke with an authority that one couldn't help but comply with.

"By the book," Haggerty replied.

"You may begin," Cole gave the ADA permission to start the interview, pointedly ignoring Harley.

"Ms. Thorpe, you were seen on Sunday evening, speaking to Alan-Michael Spaulding. Could you tell us the nature of this conversation?"

Blake sat silently, as instructed. Cole spoke for her, "The conversation between Ms. Thorpe and Mr. Spaulding falls under spousal privilege."

"Oh come on," Harley interjected. "She hasn't been married to him in almost two years."

"Officer Cooper, I'm going to have to ask you to leave this interview if you cannot conduct yourself appropriately," Detective Levy reprimanded.

Blake smirked slightly, loving that Harley was put in her place.

David Cole continued to speak, as if having never been interrupted. "Spousal privilege can continue on through a couple's divorce if the nature of the conversation relates to said marriage. That is the case here. My client will not be answering any questions related to her conversation with Mr. Spaulding."

"So be it," Jim Haggerty spoke. "We believe that the conversation does not meet the criteria of spousal privilege. We'll let a judge decide. Blake Thorpe, you are under arrest for obstruction of justice. You have the right to remain silent..." Haggerty went on to read Blake her rights before placing handcuffs on her.

Blake was calm. Her lawyer had warned her that this might happen. The standard operating procedure was to place the uncooperative witness in a holding cell while a judge was consulted. Blake wasn't new to the holding cells, as she'd been there more than once. "Can you put me in Cell B? It has the best lighting," she quipped.

Ross stood anxiously in the observation room. He knew this would happen, but also knew that Blake would probably be released before nightfall. Judge Collier would rule on the spousal privilege issue without much fuss. No one wanted a potential conviction overturned because they had violated a witness's rights. 'Baby's First Jail Cell. They should get _that_ on an ornament for Christmas.'

As they brought Blake out of the interrogation room to take her down the hall to the holding cells, Alan-Michael walked into the police bullpen.

He appeared flustered, even more so when he spied Blake being led back in handcuffs. "Wait," he yelled. "You can't arrest her!"

"Alan-Michael! Calm down," Ross tried to placate the clearly agitated man. "She's being held for obstruction of justice. She won't be…"

Alan-Michael interrupted him before he could explain. "I'm the one who did it! The kidnapping, the bombing. I'm the one responsible!" He confessed, shouting through the police station.

Detective Levy paused, not sure what to do. Should he continue to take Ms. Thorpe back to the hold cell or arrest the man who'd just confessed?

David Cole broke in, advising, "Young man, I suggest you shut the hell up and get a lawyer." He leaned over the detective's desk to grab the phone, dialing his office and asking them to send one of the senior partners over. He wasn't sure if Mr. Spaulding had a lawyer, but he wasn't going to waste an opportunity.

Ross directed Haggerty to place Alan-Michael in the interrogation room and put Blake in one of the chairs in the bullpen. "But, she still obstructed justice," Harley protested.

"And no Judge in their right mind is going to overturn spousal privilege. Divorced or not. She's not going anywhere," Ross guaranteed, pointing to the handcuffs.

'I bet you're just loving me in these handcuffs,' she sent a mental thought towards Ross. "You can go ahead and put me in a cell if you need to," Blake joked. "I hear the accommodations are quite luxurious this time of year."

"Blake," warned Ross. Blake looked properly chastised, though her worry for Alan-Michael was growing.

Thirty minutes later, an attorney from Cole's firm appeared, asking to confer with his client alone. Ross, Levy, Haggerty, and Harley cleared interrogation and the observation room, giving them privacy.

Blake was still sitting in a chair next to Levy's desk, thoroughly ignored, as the DAs and police discussed how they would proceed. The handcuffs had been moved to secure one arm to the chair instead of holding her hands behind her back. "Umm, guys?" Blake asked. "I really have to pee!"

Ross, knowing that frequent bathroom visits had been the norm for Blake in the past few weeks, shot Harley a look.

"What? Why me?" She whined.

"Cooper! Stop whining. You're the only female here. Take her," Levy commanded.

Blake smirked as Harley came over to undo the handcuffs and take her to the ladies room. When they got back, the men were all in the interrogation room, leaving Harley to stay in the bullpen and 'babysit' Blake.

Twenty minutes later, Alan-Michael was escorted out of the room in handcuffs, being led to the holding cells. Levy came over to release Blake from her handcuffs. "What happened?" Blake asked.

Ross replied sadly, "He confessed. We're working on a deal."

"What? Why?" She wondered. Ross shot her a look that told her they'd discuss it later.

_To be continued..._


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_Ross's House_

_Tuesday, September 1, 1992_

"Why did he do that?" Blake raged, bursting into Ross's house, throwing her purse on the end table. Blake had driven around for several hours after Alan-Michael's arrest, not wanting to go into work and not wanting to go home. She'd driven by Ross's house several times, finally seeing his car parked in the driveway.

"I can't give you the full details, but the story will end up in the paper tomorrow morning," Ross tried to answer her calmly, closing the door.

"Alan-Michael confessed that the woman was blackmailing him," Ross explained. "He hired someone, intending for him to pay her off and get her out of Springfield, but the man misinterpreted, planting the bomb in the parking garage at the Towers. He made a deal to give up the name of the bomber. He also confessed to planning the kidnapping. He'll get a lighter sentence with the deal, but he's going away for a while. Part of his deal was that you wouldn't go to jail. He said that he'd confessed to you, after the fact."

Blake nodded her head. "You don't think he confessed because he thought I was going to jail, do you? I mean, they had no evidence! And he just _confessed_!"

Ross shook his head. "He came into the station looking panicked about something. He would have had no way to know that you were there at the station or that you were being arrested. Did he?" Ross was suddenly suspicious that Blake may have called Alan-Michael to tip him off.

"No!" Blake asserted. "I haven't talked to him since Sunday."

"Well, maybe the guilt was eating at him," Ross conjectured.

"Possibly," mused Blake. "He never really had the stomach for things like that." Blake sat down on the couch, kicking off her shoes and curling her feet under her.

"Take-out?" Ross asked, choosing to ignore what _other things _Blake may have done in the past that Alan-Michael couldn't do himself. Together, those two were capable of almost anything.

"Yes, please. I don't feel like going anywhere. Chinese?"

Ross nodded and picked up the phone to place an order. After he was done, he took off his tie and unbuttoned his collar a bit, taking a seat next to Blake. She turned to lean against him, relaxing.

"Frank called last night. Mom bought a flight from Santo Domingo to Switzerland last week. She still actually owns the house there."

"I think it might be good for Holly to be away from Springfield for a while. She really only came back because she was worried about you."

"Come for the suicide attempt, stay for the wedding, and find out that your dead ex is not really dead after all!" Blake joked. "I'm surprised she stayed as long as she did."

"Blake! I hate it when you do that," Ross chided.

"Do what? If I can't joke about my life, I'll cry. And I've had enough of that lately. I've made some supremely stupid choices and at least I'm owning up to the instead of trying to pretend like they didn't happen or worse, that it was okay that I did them."

Ross nodded silently, beginning to understand why Blake could be so flippant at times.

"What are we going to tell Holly, if she comes back?" So far, they had avoided talking about it. After Holly wrote the letter to Ed, they had put those thoughts on the back burner.

"I have no idea," Blake replied. "She's going to be hurt, no matter how we tell her."

The chinese food arrived quickly. Ross and Blake spent the time talking about how the fundraiser was shaping up and Ross's campaign plans for the upcoming few weeks. Leo was laying low, spending most of his time in Washington, but he continued to run campaign ads.

They finished up their food and Blake excitedly handed Ross a fortune cookie. "You're like a kid in a candy store!" Ross remarked, laughing.

"I can't help it. I love fortune cookies! So many possibilities." She broke open the cookie and pulled out the slip of paper. "Change can hurt, but it leads a path to something better," Blake read. She contemplated for a moment, thinking about all the changes she'd had made lately, and smiled.

"I love your smile, Blake. It's like your whole face lights up," Ross complimented her, leaning over to kiss her gently.

"Read yours!" Blake insisted.

"Okay," Ross unwrapped the it and pulled at the slip of paper without breaking the cookie. He handed the cookie to Blake, who smiled and kissed him. Ross cleared his throat, "When all else seems to fail, smile for today and love someone."

Ross thought for a minute. It was time. Far past time, actually. "I do, Blake."

"You do, what?"

"I love you. I'm in love with you. I have been for a while, actually. There's just something, about you, about us, that just makes my heart open. It's a feeling I don't think I've ever felt before, with anyone. I don't even know how to describe it. You make me want to laugh, scream, cry, protect you, all at the same time. I've never felt so full of life, as when I'm with you."

"Oh Ross," Blake beamed. "I love you. There's this feeling I get, whenever I'm with you. It's like, I don't know, there's this connection, between us. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm home. Like, there's no place in the world I ever want to be, but here with you."

Ross leaned in to kiss Blake, slowly at first, tenderly. The heat slowly building between them, as Ross picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Wednesday, September 2, 1992_

Blake went to work on Wednesday morning, feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a feeling that all was right with the world and she was exactly where she was meant to be. She was happy. Actually happy! Content. She was looking forward to her future with Ross and their baby.

Blake remembered her conversation with Ross, beside the country club pool after she'd decided to do a little skinny dipping, knowing that Ross would come after her. She should look for someone content. That's what he'd told her after she complained about Alan-Michael's immaturity and Frank's self-loathing. She had joked that Ross had meant boring. Ross was anything but boring. Content, yes. Boring, never. She'd never thought being content was a good thing, until she fell in love with Ross.

She had an appointment with Sara on Wednesday afternoon. They discussed her feelings about Ross and then delved into some of her feelings of resentment towards Ed. She'd felt that Ed had abandoned her after Holly had moved them to Switzerland. She knew, now, that Holly had forbid contact, but the little girl inside her still could never understand why her Daddy never wanted her.

Sara also talked to Blake about her plans to tell Roger the truth. Blake still wasn't sure how to go about it. Roger could be extremely hot headed and unpredictable. She knew that he would find out about her and Ross eventually and wondered if it would be better for him to learn about that or about the fact that he wasn't her father first.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Cedar's Hospital_

_Friday, September 4, 1992_

As Blake was packing up to head home on Friday evening, Roger decided to make an unannounced appearance in her office.

"So, this is the location of your wondrous new job!" Roger proclaimed, holding his arms aloft, gesturing around the room. "A bit small, but it matches the paltry salary they pay you."

"Dad, enough already. I like what I'm doing. I'm not coming back to WSPR," she told him, stuffing a file in her briefcase.

"Chrissy, I've got a much better plan. With Alan-Michael out at Spaulding and Alexandra out of town, they're just ripe for the picking!"

"Dad!" Blake plead.

"Oh, I know. I'm sorry about Alan-Michael, honey. I know how much he means to you, but we've got to strike now! While the iron is hot. While Spaulding is vulnerable." Roger looked so much like he was enjoying the misfortunes of the Spauldings that it made her sick.

Blake rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Dad, stop it! I don't want to be a part of your plans. I had enough of the scheming and plotting. Look at where it got Alan-Michael! He's going to prison!"

"But, Chrissy!"

"No. I'm done talking. I want you to leave," she demanded.

Roger stood, steadfast, believing it was only a matter of time before she gave in, she was, after all, a Thorpe. It was in her blood to want all the power and riches of the world. Blake sighed and shoved past him to get out of the door.

"Leave, or I'm calling security."

"Chrissy," Roger begged, watching her walk out on him. He chased after her.

"I really came her to talk to you about Holly," he said when he caught up to her.

"What about mom?"

"Well, I haven't seen her around much. Do you know what's going on with her?" Roger almost seemed concerned.

"She's been gone for more than a month. You haven't seen her around because she left the country!" Blake was perplexed at Roger's ignorance.

"Left the country? What do you mean?" Roger thought back to when he'd last remembered seeing Holly. It must have been the morning after the Blackout Victims Benefit. 'Was it that long ago?' he thought. He'd been so caught up with Jenna Bradshaw, that he hadn't thought of Holly in a while. Jenna was plan B, now that Ross would be elected Senator and deny him his plans of building on the waterfront property.

"She found out about...something...and left. I guess she needed some time away. She wrote Ed a letter, telling him that she was fine, but wouldn't be coming back for a while," Blake explained, hoping to satisfy Roger's curiosity.

"Bauer," Roger spat. "It always comes back to him."

"Let it go," Blake implored and continued walking.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Friday, September 4, 1992_

Blake arrived home in a fowl mood. Roger was the last person she wanted to deal with at the moment and Ross was away for the weekend, attending political rallies in the southern part of the state.

Ed was supposed to come over after his shift was over. They hadn't talked much in person in the past few weeks. She knew Ed would want to talk about letting Roger know the truth, but Blake still didn't think it was a good idea. Blake was getting a headache just thinking about it.

She idly flipped through the mail, noticing a rather large, thick envelope, with the Spalding logo on it. "What now?" she muttered, opening the envelope.

Inside was a letter, typed and addressed to her. She checked the signature line, noticing it was from Alan-Michael. In the letter, he explained that he was giving Blake proxy over all his stock holdings and power of attorney over his assets. In return for managing his estate, Alan-Michael was giving her 100% of the dividends from the stock for the time period of his imprisonment.

He also explained that, since he held proxy over Alan's, Alexandra, and Phillip's Spaulding stock, that power would be extended to her, unless they revoked it. The rest of the package held legal paperwork that she would have Ross look over when he got back.

Blake sat down on the couch, numb. The monetary price on the dividends could eventually translate to millions of dollars. Hundreds of thousands at the least, depending on Alan-Michael's prison sentence. And the power that came with holding proxy over not only Alan-Michael's, but Alan's, Alexandra's, and Phillip's shares of the company? It was unreal, not that she expected any of the three others to allow her to remain their proxy.

She couldn't understand why he'd done it. He confessed without inducement and he gave _her_ control of everything, not his _wife_! There was one thing she knew for sure, she'd never let Roger find out how much power she now had at Spaulding. Once Ross looked at the legal documents, she'd arrange a meeting with Vanessa and Henry, the two other major stock holders to discuss keeping this private.

She'd meant it when she told Roger she wasn't interested in the power and money that came with owning or running a major corporation. Oh, she'd been blinded by greed and power in the past, but she'd truly come to love the life she'd been leading in the past month.

Ed knocked on the door at a quarter past eight, shocking her out of her thoughts.

"Ed...Dad," she corrected herself, giving him a tight hug.

"Hey," he greeted her. "I haven't seen you around much, lately." Ed had been gone when they'd dropped off and picked up Blackout from the Bauer house last weekend, so it had been a while since she had seen him in person.

Ed commented on her growing belly, "I see the little one is starting to make his or her appearance known."

"Yeah," replied Blake, giving her belly a pat. "I'm not going to be able to hide it much longer."

"Have you and Ross decided what you're going to do? I mean are you going to go public before the election?"

"We're trying to find a balance of not being too discrete and hoping that if someone finds out before the election, it won't look like we were hiding, but just being private about our relationship. I guess Roger's really the only one I'm worried about finding out. And Mom too, if she ever comes back home."

"Sounds like a plan," Ed nodded. "Have you thought anymore about when to tell Roger about us?"

Blake sighed, "He's so unpredictable. I just have no idea how he'll handle it."

Ed started to respond and Blake cut him off, "I know, I know. We need to tell him. I for one would like to stop going by Ms. Thorpe. It sends a chill up my spine every time I hear it. Soon, we need to tell him soon. I just don't know how."

Ed nodded in agreement. "Have you spoken to Alan-Michael since…?" Ed knew Blake had some involvement in Alan-Michael's arrest, though the details from the paper were sketchy at best.

"No, Ross said he's being transferred to Statesville on Monday. They are holding off on the sentencing until some of the concessions in his deal are worked out."

Ed groaned, "They had to put him in the same prison as Alan?"

Blake nodded. "From what I gathered from Ross, he asked for it. I may go up to visit him next week. I have a lot of questions. And I'm probably going to tell him about you, if that's alright?"

"Yeah, honey, that's fine. Is there a particular reason?"

"I just want Alan-Michael to know that there won't be anything between us, in the future. I mean, now that I know he's my cousin…" Blake shuddered. "I still care about him, but…"

Ed nodded, understanding. "I talked to Mike this morning. Hope's still in Europe. I think she doesn't want to see her son in jail, but Mike is planning on coming back from DC as soon as he can close the case he's working on."

Blake nodded, thinking Alan-Michael could use his grandfather's support. She debated telling Ed about the letter that Alan-Michael had sent her and decided against it, thinking that the less people who knew about it, the better.

_To be continued..._


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

_Springfield Police Station_

_Monday, September 7, 1992_

On Monday morning, Blake decided to visit Alan-Michael before he was sent to Statesville Prison. She still hadn't spoken to Ross about Alan-Michael's stock, since Ross wasn't due to come home until today.

She sweet talked Detective Levy into letting her see Alan-Michael. As she approached his cell, she cracked, "You know, every single one of my exes are serving jail time or is out on parole. I hope this isn't a pattern? I'd like to keep the one I currently have."

"Blake," Alan-Michael warned.

"What? Not in the mood for prison humor? You probably shouldn't have confessed to a crime they didn't had any evidence of!" She berated him.

"I had to Blake. I had no choice."

"What? I didn't see anyone put a gun to your head. You didn't confess because they were arresting me for obstruction, did you?" Blake was suddenly worried that she'd been the cause of him confessing.

"No, I was going to confess before I knew they were going to arrest you."

Relieved, Blake asked, "So, why did you do it? I don't understand."

"Elanie," Alan-Michael began to explain. "I went looking for her, after I talked to you on Sunday. And I found her...with Frank."

"Okay," Blake still didn't understand. "So, I don't see how that made you want to confess."

"She was _with_ Frank! On the floor of his living room!" Alan-Michael yelled.

"Elanie cheated on you!" Blake was shocked. She'd never taken Elanie for a cheater. "Why?"

"She read the letter. I guess Frank showed her, I don't know," Alan-Michael shrugged his shoulders. "She put two and two together and figured out that I had something to do with the bombing."

"I didn't think she was that smart," Blake murmured.

Ignoring her, he continued, "She and Frank threatened to go to the police if I didn't. I knew if they saw the letter, Harley at least would start to figure it out. I thought, if I went in and made a deal, I would get a lighter sentence. I didn't mean for the bombing to happen and I gave up the guy I hired."

"Wow," Blake was actually shocked at how little fight he'd put up with from Elanie. She must have really hurt him. "Do you know what the sentence will be? How long are you going to be in prison?"

"Three years. Maybe half that with good behavior."

"So you're going to the same prison as Alan?" Blake wondered, "Trying to get in some father-son bonding?"

"I asked to be sent to the same prison as Alan because the bomber has friends. At least I'll have some protection at Statesville."

"So, why give me your proxy and power of attorney?"

"You're the only one I have left, Blake. Elanie is going to divorce me, Aunt Alex left town, Alan is, well…"

"What about your grandfather? Or your mom?" Blake interrupted.

"They have their own lives, they're not in Springfield. Blake, I'm asking you to do this because I trust you," he begged. "You're the only who's stood by me all these years. I'm not afraid of you screwing me over, now that you have control over my assets.

"I don't have control yet, I haven't signed the papers," Blake let him know.

"Why not?" Alan-Michael was shocked that Blake hadn't signed them the minute she saw them.

"I want Ross to look over them first."

"Ross?" he asked, confused. "I didn't think he was doing private law. And besides, I thought you hated that guy. He was trying to put you in jail over the Packard deal."

"That was a long time ago."

"Still."

"Alan-Michael, before you sign over all your worldly belongings to me, there's some things you need to know."

"Blake, I'm pretty sure I know almost everything about you."

"Well, there's been some developments, lately."

"Such as?" Alan-Michael wondered about the pregnancy. It was dark in the cell, but he was sure he could make out a light bump.

"Well, three things really. The first one, um, I guess it's a pretty big one. It turns out that Roger Thorpe isn't my dad after all," Blake laughed.

"What? Then who is? Wait, Ed?"

"Got it in one!"

"So that makes us…," he trailed off.

"Cousins," Blake replied. "First cousins once removed, I think."

"Oh, great," Alan-Michael banged his head again the bars of his cell.

"Oh, think of it this way, at least _Alan_ was one of the few men mom _didn't_ sleep with! We could be siblings!"

"Very funny, Blake."

"I try. And just so you _still_ don't think that I have any intention of getting back together with you when you get out of the slammer, I'm in love with someone else and I'm almost three months pregnant," Blake said proudly.

"Well, I figured out that you were pregnant after you barfed that time I was at your house. So you're in love? I didn't think I had any more brothers." He thought for a minute. "Wait, it's not Nick is it? You're not the reason Mindy ran away from the wedding?"

"Ugh, no, not Nick. Besides, I was busy making this little girl or guy on Nick and Mindy's non-wedding night!"

"So, don't keep me in suspense. Who's the guy?"

"Guess," Blake commanded, smiling like a fool.

"What? I'm not guessing. What is this, a third grade slumber party? Do you want me to name _all_ the guys in Springfield that you might have slept with?" Alan-Michael asked suggestively.

"Just think. Who would be the most unlikely person in Springfield for me to fall _desperately_ in love with?"

Okay, I'll play your games. The entertainment around here is really lacking. Well, Spauldings are out. Not many left that you havn't slept with and Nick is a no. Bauers are out...I hope? Billy Lewis? No way in hell would he ever...ha...I got it! The least likely person for you fall in love with is...Ross Marler!" He joked, hoping to get a laugh out of Blake.

Blake just smiled at him. A _sickeningly_ sweet smile.

"Ross! You're in love with Ross Marler and your having his baby!" Alan-Michael shouted.

"Shhh, not so loud!" Blake hushed him.

"Oh, this is priceless. How?"

"It's just...happened. I don't really know how to explain it. But he's good for me. And he loves me. He knows exactly who I am and he loves me anyway."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Towers_

_Monday, September 7, 1992_

Blake waited at the bar at the Towers, sipping a ginger ale. She was supposed to meet Maureen and Michelle for lunch. Michelle was out of school, since it was labor day. She said a silent toast to Alan-Michael, who would be transferred to Statesville Prison at any moment. Blake actually felt relieved being able to tell him about Roger, Ed, Ross, and the baby. She knew Alan-Michael wouldn't tell anyone. They still shared a lot of secrets that neither one of them wanted revealed.

She felt a little queasy, so Blake decided to visit the ladies room before Maureen and Michelle showed up. "Max," she addressed the bartender. "I'm waiting for Maureen Bauer and her daughter. Would you let them know I'm here? I'm just going to stop in the ladies room."

"Sure thing, Ms. Thorpe."

Blake was relieved that the ladies room appeared to be empty and she'd gotten there just in time. The morning sickness tended to rear its ugly head just before mealtimes. Maybe it was the smell of food? At least she usually felt better afterwards and was able to eat.

A short while later she sat down on the settee in the powder room, putting a cool cloth on her neck, giving her a minute to collect herself.

"Oh, Blake, that just sounded awful," came the shrillingly annoying voice of Nadine. "I hope it's not catching!"

"Nope, not catching Nadine," Blake replied, not realizing that her baby bump was clearly visible from the way she was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, this is so exciting! I didn't know you were pregnant!" Nadine squealed.

Blake rolled her eyes and sighed, 'Crap, of all the people in Springfield to notice, it has to be the most clueless gossip in town!'

"Oh, this will be so much fun!" Nadine was practically giddy, jumping up and down.

"Fun?" Blake questioned, not really understanding Nadine excitement.

"Oh! Blake, I'm pregnant, too! We'll get to be pregnant together! And then our babies will be best friends!"

"Your pregnant?" Blake doubted, "Aren't you a little too old for that?"

"Oh, Blake, you're so funny sometimes. Who's the father? Oh, I hope it isn't Alan-Michael. It would be so sad to see your baby's father in prison. And, well, I don't think Elanie would be to happy."

"It's not Alan-Michael's," Blake responded, not wanting _that_ rumor to get started. She sighed and put her head against the wall, closing her eyes.

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone. Though, I suppose single motherhood is a valid choice, these days. God knows it was tough in my day. Harley and Frank's father died in Vietnam, you know? Thank goodness I have Billy. He'll make such a wonderful father, don't you think? Well, I mean he is a wonderful father already to Mindy and little Bill. I guess you can't really blame him for Dylan, though, since he didn't know."

Blake was about to strangle Nadine if she didn't shut up, but didn't have the strength to move at the moment.

"Mommy, I don't think Blake wants to hear your life story," Harley appeared from the stall area.

'Great! How much did Harley hear?' Blake wondered. Harley led her mother out of the ladies room, Nadine still chattering.

"You look like you could use this," came the _last_ voice that Blake wanted to hear. Blake opened her eyes and took the ginger ale that Vanessa was holding out. Vanessa explained herself further. "The bartender was worried about you, so he asked me to bring this in."

"The bartender always knows," Blake joked.

"The question is, did the bartender do it?" Vanessa joked back with a raised eyebrow,

"Haha. I plead the 5th. I didn't know you were so funny!"

"I still have a few secrets left," Vanessa confessed, sitting down beside Blake. "Are you okay?"

"I will be in a minute. It usually passes quickly."

"I'm sure hearing Nadine prattle on, didn't help," Vanessa spoke of Billy's new wife with derision.

Blake wondered if Vanessa heard Nadine announce her own pregnancy. She didn't want to be the one to tell her if she hadn't heard. Hearing that the person you are in love with is having a baby with another woman was rough.

"We're you meeting someone for lunch? I could let them know you're in here?" Vanessa offered.

"Maureen and Michelle. I think I'm okay, now." Blake stood up. "Thank you, for the ginger ale, and the laugh.

"Anytime."

"Would you do me a favor and not say anything about my being pregnant? I know Nadine has probably blabbed it halfway across Springfield by now, but the less people that know, the better."

"Sure," Vanessa replied, sincerely.

_To be continued..._


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: Spring break is coming to an end, so sadly, I won't be able to write as much. I'll try to keep updating when I can, but the chapters will be much smaller and more infrequent. I'm enjoying writing this and I hope all of you are enjoying the ride. As a side note, I'm doing some editing of the previous chapters. Nothing will change in the story, just some grammar fixes that are bugging me and adding some dates and locations. No need to re-read if your not confused.

Chapter 22

_Blake's house - Reva's Bend_

_Monday, September 7, 1992_

Ross arrived at Blake's house Monday evening. Blackout greeted him eagerly at the door and Ross pulled out a large rawhide bone, offering it to the dog. Blackout took it, dancing on his hind legs and letting out a muffled bark of thanks through his closed teeth.

"Do I get any presents?" Blake purred, coming out of the bedroom, wearing a tight tank top and his boxer shorts, which accented her eleven week baby bump. He loved it when she looked so casual around him.

"I don't know. Have you been a good girl while I was gone?" Ross moved towards her, slowly.

"Maybe," she answered, leaning against the post that stood between the living area and the hallway. "Maybe not."

"Don't move," he whispered. Blake looked so incredibly sexy, just standing there, eyeing him, biting gently on her lower lip. He remembered the first night they made love, kissing her hungrily against that post and then following her into the bedroom.

Ross approached her, running his hands through her hair, and pulling his lips down to meet hers in a crushing kiss.

"I take it," Blake spoke between kisses, "you missed me?"

Ross stopped, looking her in the eyes and gasped, "Always," before kissing her feverishly and leading her towards the bedroom.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Laying in bed, afterwards, Ross ran his hand down her smooth shoulders, caressing her skin lightly.

"Mmmmm," Blake moaned, stretching like a kitten against him. "So, the cat's out of the bag, so to speak."

"About?"

"Nadine discovered that I'm pregnant. I'm sure half the town knows by now."

"How?" Ross asked, not too concerned. Blake was a very slight woman and her belly, though still small, poked out fairly prominently. It was only a matter of time.

"I was at Towers, throwing up in the ladies room before my lunch with Maureen and Michelle. Nadine heard me. She's pregnant, too, by the way. She thinks were going to be baby buddies, or something."

Ross let out a hearty belly laugh. "Billy must be so overjoyed!" he chuckled.

Blake rolled her eyes, thinking of the annoying woman. She wouldn't put it past her to have planned to get pregnant, or even fake it, knowing Billy was losing interest in her and spending a lot more time with Vanessa.

"Harley and Vanessa were also in the ladies room and overheard," Blake continued, "so I told Michelle and Maureen while we were eating lunch. Michelle is excited to be an aunt!"

"So, one secret out, two to go?" Ross asked.

"Ed and I talked about telling Roger. I still don't know. He's up to something having to do with Spaulding."

"Isn't he always?" Ross commented.

"Oh, speaking of Spaulding," Blake sat up quickly, leaning over to grab the papers from the nightstand. She handed Ross the letter, saving the legal documents for him to look at after.

Ross read over the information quickly, looking up to Blake, worried, "This is a lot. A lot of money and a lot of power, at Spaulding."

"I know," Blake sighed, sound surprising bothered by the notion. "I went to see Alan-Michael, this morning, before they sent him off to prison. Tried to talk him out of it, but he told me he had no one else he trusted."

"Elanie?" Ross questioned.

"Apparently, she was the reason for the confession. She found out about the woman from the bombing, or Frank told her, I guess. She threatened to go to the police if _he_ didn't and she's going to divorce him."

"Blake, you realize by having his power of attorney over his assets, that you are going to have to be involved in their divorce proceedings?" Ross informed her.

Blake laughed. "Well I was involved in the first two, why stop there? I did tell Alan-Michael about Ed, and the baby, and us. I didn't want him to get any wrong ideas about getting back together." At Ross's slightly worried look, Blake added, "He won't tell anyone. We keep each other's secrets."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Ross, there's nothing for you to worry about. I promise you, nothing else is going to come back to bite me. Billy already found out about Nadine and the Packard proposal. He's not going to go public with it."

"Okay," Ross let it go. "What do you want to do about this," he gestured to the letter.

"Well, I have no intention of going back to work at Spaulding. I like the work I'm doing at Cedars. I'll vote Alan-Michael's proxy when needed, so I'll need to be kept in the loop, like any other major stockholder. Alan-Michael has an accountant that manages the non-Spaulding assets. I'm familiar with most of them, since I was married to him."

"And the proxies for Alan, Alex, and Phillip

"Yeah, there's no way Alexandra won't revoke it from me. I'm surprised she didn't give it to Nick or Vanessa."

"Giving Vanessa Alex's proxy would be putting too much power in the hands of the Chamberlains," Ross explained. "Between Vanessa's holdings and Henry's, adding Alexandra's on top would give them more than a 50% share of the company. I assume Nick wouldn't take it. Giving Alan-Michael proxy was actually a safe decision."

"Hmm, that makes sense," Blake commented, surprised at how much Ross knew about the current inner workings at Spaulding. "Well, there's no doubt Alan and Phillip will also revoke their proxies and give them to someone else. You should call Phillip."

"I will, in the morning. I spoke to him last week about Alan-Michael going to prison. Blake, there's going to be some power plays going on, with Alex out of the country and Alan and Alan-Michael both in jail. You should be prepared."

"I just want to stay out of it as much as I can," Blake flopped back down on the bed. "And I definitely don't want Roger to find out. I'm done with that life. I can't remember ever being this content and happy. With you, with our baby, with my job." Blake rolled to her side to curl up next to Ross.

"It's not boring?" Ross reminder the of the comment that she made about him. Ross worried that she eventually get bored with him. Blake having the kind of money and power she always wanted scared him a little.

"Nope, you couldn't be boring if you tried," Blake leaned over to kiss him, shoving the papers out of the way.

_To be continued..._


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

_Spaulding Enterprises_

_Wednesday September 9, 1992_

Ross had spoken to Phillip on the phone on Tuesday morning, making him aware of Alan-Michael's choice to give his own proxy and by extension, Phillip's proxy to Blake. Phillip chose to transfer his proxy to Ross. Having been the President of Spaulding at one time, Ross himself had some significant shares of stock, though nothing near the amount of the Chamberlains and Spauldings.

A courier delivered a certified letter to Blake on Tuesday afternoon, confirming, to her shock, that Alan would be allowing Blake to keep control of his vote. She wondered if Alan-Michael had had a word with dear old dad. She also knew that Alan had less than two years left on his original sentence. He probably thought she was more controllable than the other options he had. He'd be in for a big surprise.

Blake set up a meeting between Vanessa, Henry, and Ross, now the major players at Spaulding. Alexandra was still out of contact and Blake wondered if she even knew what was happening. By Ross's calculation, the four of them now had a fairly equal stake in the company, with the minor players like India, Amanda, Hope, Dinah, and Quinton filling in the gaps, though no one had majority control.

Blake arrived first, the secretary showing her into the President's office. It appeared that Vanessa had wasted no time moving in after Alan-Michael was arrested.

"Blake, how nice to see you again," Vanessa cooed. "Won't you sit down?"

Blake smiled. If this was how Vanessa wanted to play things, she could do nice, too. There was no love loss between the two, but Vanessa had been kind the other day in the ladies room. Since she was sure Nadine had outed her, Blake wore a form fitting business dress that showed off her belly.

"Is Henry going to join us?" Blake asked.

"Yes, he'll be here momentarily Daddy had an appointment with at the Spaulding Foundation's offices earlier this morning."

Blake nodded, and an uncomfortable silence fell between the two. The door opened and Ross came in, briefcase in hand. "I hope I'm not late? The breakfast with the Rotary Club ran long."

"Ross! I wasn't aware that you were joining us." Vanessa seemed overly delighted at Ross appearance. Blake scowled, not that anyone noticed, as Vanessa and Ross greeted each other in an embrace and a kiss to the cheek.

"I told Henry when I called to set up the appointment," Blake informed her.

"Yes, yes, she did. Must have slipped my mind," spoke the Henry as he came in the door. "My apologies."

"Blake, my dear, how are you?" Even though Blake knew that Henry disliked her, she had to hand it to him, he was always pleasantly polite. Many people underestimated Henry Chamberlain, talking him for a doddering grandfatherly type. Blake knew better.

"Good," she greeted Henry. As they took their seats, Blake began, "So, as I told Henry on the phone, Alan-Michael has given me voting proxy over his shares of Spaulding stock." She didn't share the information about the dividends or the power of attorney, feeling like it was none of their business. "By extension, I also hold proxy over Alan and Alexandra's shares, though I expect that Alexandra will make a change as soon as she learns of this."

"And Alan?" Henry questioned.

"I received confirmation from Alan that he will allow me to have control over his shares."

Ross added, "Alan-Michael also held proxy for Phillip's shares, but Phillip has decided to give that power to me."

Vanessa nodded, now understanding why Ross was there. "So, let's cut to the chase. What do you want, Blake? Your old job back? A new position?"

"I don't want anything," Blake stated plainly. At Vanessa's doubtful expression she continued, "I like what I'm doing at Cedars. I don't want to come back to Spaulding. I'll vote at Board meetings, in Alan-Michael's interest, but I don't intend to involve myself with the company again."

"I hear that you are doing a fine job with the annual fundraiser," Vanessa complimented her. "I am prepared to offer you a position as the President of the Spaulding Foundation, working on our charitable contributions."

Blake was shocked that Vanessa would offer her such a position, "No, thank you. I'll have to pass. I will have too much on my plate in the coming months to consider it," Blake patted her stomach. "I meant what I said, I don't want a job at Spaulding. In fact, I prefer for this information to be kept as confidential as possible."

"You don't want anyone to know the voting power you hold?" Henry questioned.

"I don't want _Roger_ to know the voting power I have," clarified Blake.

This information caused Vanessa to stiffen, wondering if this was all a game between Roger and his daughter. "You don't want Roger to know? Why?" Vanessa asked suspiciously.

"It's a bit personal, but suffice it to say, I'm distancing myself from him. I've started to realize he's not who I want to become. I should warn you though, he is up to something, regarding Spaulding. I'm not sure what exactly, but he's been seen in the company of Jenna Bradshaw."

Henry perked up a bit at this news, slowly starting to realize what Roger might be up to. Blake noticed this, but didn't think either Vanessa or Ross had seen it.

The meeting continued on as Vanessa and Henry filled Blake and Ross in on the major happenings at Spaulding. As the meeting wrapped up, Vanessa asked quietly, "I am curious though, why Alan-Michael did not choose Elanie." She stared pointedly at Blake's stomach.

"That's between him and Elanie. And the father of my child is not up for discussion, though I can assure you, it's _not_ Alan-Michael's," she asserted. Blake knew there'd be speculation about who the father of her baby was and she wanted make sure that nobody thought Alan-Michael was the father. She didn't feel it would be fair to Ross, once they went public, if people thought the baby might be her ex-husband's.

"If that will be all, Vanessa?" Ross inquired, seeing Blake getting irritated.

"Oh, yes," Vanessa beamed at Ross. "Would you like to accompany me to the country club? I'm finding myself without a lunch companion today as Daddy has an appointment and Maureen is taking the day off.

"I have an appointment?" Henry questioned, Vanessa shooting him a look. "Oh, yes, yes, I do. Must have slipped my mind."

Ross, sensing Vanessa's play, now that she and Fletcher had broken up, Holly was gone, _and_ Billy was more than likely wrapped up with Nadine's news, responded, "Oh, Vanessa, I'm sorry, but I promised Blake that I would have lunch with her. We need to wrap up some details concerning the how my campaign is involved in the Cedar's Fundraiser."

Ross saw Blake visibly relax at his statement.

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Spaulding is involved in the fundraiser was well. May I join you?" Vanessa asked.

Blake couldn't believe Vanessa's blatant self-invitation. "Unfortunately, there is a lot to discuss, I wouldn't want to bore you. We were just planning on take-out in Ross's office," Blake said dismissively, walking toward the door. "Coming, Ross?"

"Yes," Ross responded and followed her, silently thanking her for taking care of Vanessa. That was one piece of the past he didn't wish to revisit.

_To be continued..._


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: I won't lie, I bawled like a baby writing this chapter. Song at the end is "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill. It's on YouTube. I would suggest listening to it while reading the chapter. Definitely a Bloss song.

Chapter 24

_Ross's Carriage House_

_Thursday, September 10th, 1992_

Ross came home Thursday evening to see Blake lounging on his couch, listening to the radio and reading through a stack of papers.

"Hi, honey, I'm home," he joked, placing his briefcase on the desk.

"You'll have to make your own dinner tonight, I'm busy," she bantered back, giving him a wide smile.

Ross leaned over the arm of the couch, kissing Blake soundly on the mouth, upside down. "Good thing I'm resourceful," Ross quipped, holding up several bags from an italian restaurant.

"My hero!" Blake exclaimed.

"What are you reading?" Ross asked, starting to set-the food up at the table.

"Some information Alan-Michael's accountant gave me on setting up a trust fund. For the baby." Blake started pulling the papers together and placed them in an envelope.

"A trust fund?" Ross questioned.

"Yes, the dividends have the potential to earn quite a bit of money. I want to put the majority of it into a trust fund for the baby and the rest, I want to make sure are in some safe investments. I was just looking at some the options." Blake moved to the table and sat down on Ross's lap.

Ross raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure? You know what kind of problems that caused for Phillip and Alan-Michael. You, too, if memory serves me."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I wanted to go over this with you. I think Alan's and Roger's intentions were that the trust funds would tie their children to them. I want to make sure that this money is independent of anything having to do with you or me. I don't want our child's future to ride on the whims of his or her parents."

"That's very cynical," Ross remarked.

"Can you blame me?" Blake retorted. "We have no idea what the future will be like. We could end up bitterly divorced and playing our child against each other in 18 years."

Ross wrapped his arms around her, trying to reassure her. "I have no intention of letting that happen."

"Nobody intends for anything like that to happen. I'm just being pragmatic. I'm sure your mother didn't _plan_ for your father to die when you and Lanie were young. My mother certainly didn't _plan_ on Roger and...everything."

"I see your point. Do you want to make some time for us to talk about the trust fund with the accountant?" Ross asked.

"I'd prefer that we talk alone and come to a decision. I don't want to involve the accountant until we go public with our relationship."

Ross nodded, "Something else we need to talk about. If Vanessa could have seen your face the other day, instead of making goo goo eyes at me, she would have figured it out in a second."

"What?" Blake protested. "I recall being cool, calm, and collected about her making a pass at you."

"Nope," Ross disagreed. "You were jealous," he teased

"Jealous," scoffed Blake. "I don't get jealous. I get revenge," she stated with a playful, evil grin.

"Is that part of the reason you're looking into a trust fund before the baby is even born? Are you afraid I'm going to run off with another woman and leave you penniless?" Ross was joking with her, but seeing Blake's expression change, he realized he'd hit a nerve.

"Oh, Blake," Ross whispered. "I'm in this for the long haul. I have never loved anyone more than I love you. You're it for me. I can't ever imagine being with anybody else for the rest of my life. I don't know when it happened, but you stole my heart."

Blake couldn't do anything but let the tears roll from her eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak. Ross softly kissed the tears from her cheek.

"I guess we never really talked about the future," Blake finally spoke, her voice raspy. "I've never even had a relationship last more than a year," she derided herself. "It's hard for me to see the bigger picture. I just know that I do love you. I can see now that I never really loved Phillip or Alan-Michael. Phillip was like puppy love. I was so naive back then." Blake giggled, "Surprised? Alan-Michael, he started off as means to an end. Then he just turned into some sick obsession for me."

"So the future. Do you want to know what I see?" Ross asked.

Blake nodded.

"I see me as a Senator. I see you proudly standing there, right there beside me, with our child. Maybe a few more? I see us growing old together. Me, a little faster than you," Ross joked. "I see us watching our children grow up, get married, have families of their own. And not once, can I ever imagine you _not_ being there."

Blake was bawling by the time Ross finished describing his vision, "Five minutes ago, I couldn't imagine loving you any more that I already did. I might have stolen your heart, but I gave you mine in return. I'm trusting you not to break it."

"Never," Ross promised. "I think we should go together to the Fundraiser Ball. As a couple," Ross stated. "I don't want to hide _us_ anymore."

"Are you asking me out on a date, future Senator Marler?" Blake asked. "There will be dancing involved. Are you sure you're up to it?" she teased.

"I'm actually a very good dancer, thank you very much," Ross responded.

"Um, hmm," Blake commented.

"Blake," Ross stood them up and offered his hand, "dance with me."

Blake took his hand and he wrapped his other arm around her lower back, pulling her close, swaying to the music playing on the radio.

_And who am I to judge you_

_In what you say or do_

_I'm only just beginning_

_To see the real you_

_And sometimes when we touch_

_The honesty's too much_

_And I have to close my eyes and hide_

_I want to hold you till I die_

_Till we both break down and cry_

_I want to hold you till the fear in me subsides_

_To be continued..._


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

_Ross's Carriage House_

_Friday, September 11, 1992_

Ross slipped quietly out of the bed on Friday morning, trying not wake up Blake. Unfortunately, he managed disturb the slumber of Blackout, who'd somehow managed to crawl up on the bed and deposit himself on top of Blake's feet. Blackout picked his head up, as if questioning why Ross was getting up so early in the morning.

Blake stirred a bit as Blackout moved. "Ross?" she mumbled.

"Shhh," he whispered. "Go back to sleep, it's early. I have a pre-trial meeting I need to get ready for."

"Hmph," Blake turned and rolled onto his side of the bed, curling up in the blanket and falling back to sleep.

Ross showered quickly and made his way downstairs, Blackout following him. He would let him out and feed him, so Blake could sleep longer.

A few hours later, Blake woke up, stretching out on the bed. She had a lunch meeting with the person serving as the race coordinator at 11:00, but nothing on her plate until then. She took a shower and got ready, slowly starting to realize how many of her things had migrated to Ross's house. Her shampoo, her hair brush, some of her clothes. She smiled, thinking about what he'd said to her last night.

She used the bathroom and her peaceful feeling soon turned to panic. She was spotting. Blake had a moment of full blown terror before remembering in the book she'd read that spotting was at least semi-normal in pregnancy, but that she should go to the doctor, just in case.

Trying to keep the tears from falling and her emotions in check, Blake quickly got dressed and made her way out of the house to her car. "It's going to be alright, it's going to be alright," she kept repeating to herself on the way to the hospital.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Cedar's Hospital ER_

_Friday September 11, 1992_

Blake arrived at the hospital and made her way straight to Lillian, who was standing next to the nurses station.

"Blake!" Lillian took in the terrified face of the young woman, "Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

Blake didn't think she could talk without bursting into tears. "The baby," she finally choked out.

Lillian nodded and guided Blake quickly to a wheelchair. "Page Dr. Sedgwick," she ordered one of the junior nurses. "And Dr. Bauer," she added.

"Okay, Blake, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you everything's going to be okay, but we're going to get you checked out and see what's going on."

Blake nodded as Lillian wheeled her into a private exam room. Lillian helped her get undressed and into an exam gown.

"Can you tell me what happened? Are you feeling any pain?"

"No, no pain," Blake managed to speak. "I noticed some spotting this morning."

"Okay, it's a good sign that there's no pain. Spotting can happen in a normal pregnancy. How far along are you?"

"Tw...welve we...eks," Blake stutterd.

"Okay. Blake, I want you to take a deep breath."

Blake nodded, trying to control her breathing. Dr. Sedgwick came in a little while later. Lillian explained to her what was going on.

"Okay, Blake, lie back. We'll see what's going on with this little one," Dr. Sedgwick told her in a reassuring voice.

Blake stared up at the ceiling, praying that her child would be okay, praying that she wouldn't lose one of the best things that had ever happened to her and wishing to God that Ross would be there.

Several minutes later, a hand grasped hers and she looked over, seeing Ed next to her. If Ross couldn't be there, Ed was the next best thing. Ed have her a reassuring smile. "There's not much blood. That's a good sign."

"I called Ross," Ed whispered, "he's on his way." The tears that had threatened to fall, finally gave up their fight.

Dr. Sedgwick finished her internal examination and brought out the doppler, explaining, "We'll set up for an ultra-sound in a few minutes, but for now, listen."

Blake could hear a whosh, whosh sound coming from the speakers on the little device Dr. Sedgwick was using. "It's your baby's heartbeat."

"It's the…" Blake spoke before starting to cry again, listening to her son's or daughter's heartbeat.

"Everything looks fine, Blake. There are no signs of contractions, no pain. Just a little blood. We'll check the placenta on the ultrasound to be sure, but I think this is what we call breakthrough bleeding. You're at twelve weeks. Your body is so used menstruating every month, that sometimes this can happen. It's the hormones. We usually see it at 4, 8, and 12 weeks before the placenta starts controlling the hormones for the pregnancy. You may have even spotted at 4 and 8 weeks and not noticed if it was light."

Dr. Sedgwick's voice was reassuring, but all she wanted was Ross. "I'm going to let Ed hold the doppler, so you can keep listening, while I set-up the ultrasound."

Blake nodded as Ed sat up the bed and then took a hold of the doppler. Blake let the gentle whosh, whosh sound wash over her.

She began talking softly to her bump. "I hear you in there, little one. You've got six more months to go. You've got to give your mommy and daddy a little time to get ready for you. This is the first time that we've done this. And you've got a grandpa that can't wait to meet you," she smiled up to Ed, "but he's going to have to be patient."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Ross's DA's Office_

_Friday, September 11, 1992_

"Marler," Ross said, picking up the ringing phone. His secretary must be making copies or coffee again.

"Ross, it's Ed."

Ross picked up on Ed's serious tone, "What is it?"

"You need to get to the hospital. Emergency Room. Blake's here. Exam room 3. I'm not sure what's going on, but I wanted to call you as soon as I heard."

"I'll be the in 5 minutes," Ross hung up the phone and hurried out the door, passing by Haggerty.

"Ross, you've got court in 30 minutes," he reminded.

Ross grabbed the file from his secretary's desk and threw it at Haggerty. "You need to take it, I have a family emergency."

Ross didn't bother with his car. The hospital was a short walk from city hall and getting his car from the parking lot would take more time than walking, or running, as was the case with Ross.

Ross was slightly out of breath as he reached the doors to the ER. He burst through the doors and found his way to exam room 3.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Cedar's Hospital Waiting Room_

_September 11, 1992_

Vanessa was sitting in the waiting room, just outside of the ER. She was waiting on her son, little Bill. Bill had an appointment with a psychiatrist to discuss some of his feelings and the way he'd been acting out during and after Vanessa's rape trial. She'd taken Blake's advice, not because she valued her opinion or even trusted her, but as a child of a rape victim, Blake probably knew what she was talking about when she'd hinted that Bill might need some help.

Vanessa was flipping through an ancient copy of Time magazine when she saw Blake come into the ER. She appeared to be slightly distraught and Lillian put her in a wheelchair and wheeled her into exam room 3. Vanessa said a short prayer, hoping everything was alright. No mother should ever have to experience a miscarriage.

Several minutes later, she saw Dr. Sedgwick go into the room, followed by Ed, who stopped to make a quick phone call, first.

Five minutes after that, she saw Ross rush into the ER and head for the room Blake was in.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Cedar's Hospital - Exam Room 3_

_September 11, 1992_

"Blake!" Ross ran into the room, stopping short as he saw Blake sitting up and Ed holding an instrument to her stomach. He could hear a gentle whosh, whosh sound coming from the instrument. He then looked up to see Blake smiling broadly, through a tear stained face.

"It's alright. The baby's alright," Blake reassure him. "I had some spotting, but it's okay." She held out her hand and Ross rushed over to take it.

"Is that…" he started.

"It's our baby's heartbeat," Blake finished.

Ross let out a shutter as a single tear rolled down his left cheek. "Is the baby really alright?"

Blake nodded and Dr. Sedgwick added, "Just fine. Take a look." She spun the ultrasound monitor around for them to see.

Hand in hand, Blake and Ross stared at the fuzzy screen, seeing their baby's heartbeat wink in and out in time to the whosh, whosh sound.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Cedar's Waiting Room_

_September 11, 1992_

Fifteen minutes after Ross went in, Vanessa saw him come back out of the room. He leaned against the wall, tiredly, and let out a choked, relieved sob.

_To be continued..._


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

_Ross's Carriage House_

_Saturday, September 12, 1992_

Blake woke to the smell of coffee and a stream of sunlight shining in through the windows above the bed. She rolled to her side and spied Ross setting a breakfast tray on the dresser. She took a moment to gaze at him, unnoticed. Between their scare yesterday and seeing their baby on the ultrasound, Blake knew, without a doubt, that Ross was the man she was meant to be with, forever.

Ross turned, seeing Blake gazing upon him and smiled. "You're awake."

"You brought food," she answered, sitting up and gracing him with a bright smile.

"Breakfast in bed." Ross brought the tray over to the bed and slid in next to Blake. "So we don't have to leave this room all morning."

"My hero," Blake said, pecking his cheek with a kiss, before driving into the food.

Ross chuckled at Blake's seemingly endless appetite these days. They'd gotten take-out from the country club last night, after leaving the hospital, and she's eaten all of her food and half of his. The morning sickness seemed to be mostly over.

After they had finished their breakfast, Ross took the tray back to the dresser and returned to the bed.

"You're overdressed," Blake growled, reaching to take off the pants Ross was wearing.

"Uh, uh, uh," Ross wagged his finger, "Not yet," he said as he brought a jewelry box out from behind his back and presented it to Blake.

She noticing that it was larger, like a necklace case, and Blake was surprised to find herself relieved that it wasn't a ring box. Though they were having a child and had exchanged 'I love yous,' she wasn't sure they were ready for marriage. Getting married to Phillip and Alan-Michael had destroyed their relationships, though, she thought frankly, they were pretty well on their way to being destroyed before they took the marriage vows.

Blake took the gift and opened it, seeing a silver necklace with tiny, baby footprints hanging from it. Looking closely, she noticed a quote written on a tag underneath the baby feet, and read it aloud, "The darkest nights produce the brightest stars, June 26, 1992."

Blake felt tears rolling down her face and looked up to see Ross crying as well. "Oh Ross," she said, remembering the night of the blackout and the night their child was conceived. She leaned over to kiss him soundly. "Put it on me?" Blake turned and lifted her hair, so that Ross could hook the necklace.

"I always want to remember that night," Ross said, as Blake turned around and straddled his lap. "I feel like it was the beginning of the rest of my life." He reached down to place his hands on her belly as she leaned down to kiss him.

"The beginning of the rest of _our_ lives," Blake corrected him between kisses. "I never want to imagine not being here, with you, with our baby."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Blake's House_

_Monday, September 14, 1992_

Blake and Ross spent a quiet weekend at Ross's home, just enjoying each other and talking about their plans for the baby's trust fund. Ross had multiple campaign appearances scheduled for the upcoming week, but thankfully would be free on Friday.

She invited Samantha over after work on Monday for some _girl time_. Blake, finding herself with more energy, had decided to cook. Samantha helped her prepare a delicious pasta primavera and caesar salad.

"Have you been to see Alan-Michael, yet?" Samantha asked as they were cooking.

"Yes, I saw him just before they transferred him. I had some questions for him. Trying to figure out why he confessed."

Samantha nodded, she too had wondered what made him admit to his crimes. "I went up on Friday. He seems to be in good spirits, considering. The sentencing is next week."

"Yeah, Ross mentioned that. He's going to let me talk to him before. I have some things to discuss about Spaulding business with him."

"You're working for Spaulding again?" Samantha looked concerned, knowing that Blake seemed happy with her position at Cedars.

"No, but Alan-Michael gave me control of his stocks. Don't tell anyone, though. I want to keep it under wraps. I don't want Roger finding out."

"Understandable."

"So," Blake began, as they sat down to eat, "Any plans for your birthday, this year?"

Samantha looked slightly shocked that Blake remembered that her birthday was coming up next week. "Um, nothing planned. With college and law school, I haven't really had a party in years," Sam said, remembering the party that Alan-Michael and Harley had thrown for her at the diner.

"You should have a party! You have a lot to celebrate this year," Blake insisted.

"My dad is planning on flying in on Friday. He has a conference in New York and he was going to stop in Springfield beforehand. I was thinking, just a quiet dinner with family. I want you to be there, though, I wasn't sure if you and Ross wanted to let Justin know about you, yet."

Blake shrugged, "Justin isn't my biggest fan. Does Ross know that he's coming?" Her mother had mentioned once that Ross felt his older brother was a bit judgemental at times and she knew how Justin felt about _her_ after putting Phillip in the asylum and trying to hide Beth's return. She wasn't sure how Justin would react to them being together and having a baby.

"No, I don't think so. Maybe it's better to have a party, that way you and Ross don't have to worry about it being awkward."

"So, a party it is!" Blake exclaimed, grateful to change the subject, knowing most people who knew both her and Ross would be shocked when they went public at the Ball. It was starting to turn her stomach into knots, thinking about the day that was less than three weeks away. "Where to have it?" she mused.

Samantha a Blake discussed a few options and settled on the Country Club patio since it was supposed to be a warm night. Blake made a call and secured the location for Friday night. They spent the remainder of the night planning the party and the guest list.

_To be continued..._


	27. Chapter 27

Authors Note: Ed and Roger's conversation comes mostly from the 8-11-92 and 8-12-92 episodes when Roger crashes the Bauer's anniversary party. The song at the end is Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing At All". Happy Easter!

Chapter 27

_Lakeland Country Club_

_Friday, September 18, 1992_

Friday arrived quickly and Black took off work early to make sure everything was ready at the Country Club for Samantha's party. She wanted it to be perfect. Samantha had been a good friend to her in the past month and a half and she wanted to thank her. It had been a long time since Blake had a real female friend to talk to. Samantha had forgiven Blake's past mistakes and supported her relationship with Ross.

Ross showed up with Samantha, just before the party began. The guests started arriving around seven o'clock. The Bauer clan arrived first, Ed, Maureen, Bridget, and Michelle. Vanessa and Fletcher brought little Bill and Ben, so the three pre-teens ran off together towards the pool area.

Dylan brought Julie as his date and Henry Chamberlain, surprisingly brought Jenna Bradshaw. Frank showed up with Elanie and Harley managed to get Mallet to join the party, though he was a bit grouchy, being stuck in the wheelchair. Samantha had a quick word with Mallet at the beginning of the party that seemed to cheer him up.

Blake was relieved that none of the guest had said anything to her about her now obvious pregnancy. She had seen Frank at the diner on Wednesday, and though he looked shocked at seeing her pregnant, he hadn't asked who the father was. She supposed Frank assumed it was Alan-Michael's.

Lillian was planning on picking Justin up from the airport and bringing him to the party.

The guests were getting into full party mode, dancing, eating, and chatting with each other when the most surprising guest of all showed up. Roger Thorpe, brightly wrapped birthday present in hand. Samantha, being Samantha, greeted Roger and invited him to have a drink. The rest of the guests avoided him. Everyone, except Jenna. Roger chatted happily with Jenna before turning to the drink table to see Blake, picking at the green olives, meant for the martinis.

"So the rumors are true?" Roger spoke to his daughter. "You're really pregnant."

"Yes," Blake answered simply.

"Honey, why didn't you tell me? I'm going to be a grandfather! Is it Alan-Michael's? Is that why you were keeping it a secret? Does your mother know?" Roger asked a string of questions.

"Yes, Mom knows," Blake turned to walk away.

"Chrissy," Roger started, grabbing her arm. Ross started to step in, seeing Roger approach Blake, but Ed was quicker.

"Roger, what are you doing?" Ed approached, stepping between him and Blake.

"Well, I was speaking with my daughter, if that's alright with you?" Roger answered calmly, seeing Ed tense up, waiting for him to blow.

"She obviously doesn't want to speak with you. No one wants you here. Why don't you leave?" Ed growled. Blake stepped back further, putting Ed and now Ross between her and Roger.

"I was under the impression that this was Samantha's party," Roger smiled over at Samantha who gave a nervous shrug.

"How much fun can it really be, hanging around where you're not wanted?" Ed's voice grew louder.

"I have plenty of friends here, Jenna, your _wife_…," Roger baited Ed, knowing what would send him over the edge.

"What did you say?" Ed started to bow up on Roger when Ross stepped in between the two, placing his hand on Ed's chest to stop him.

"Let it go," Ross spoke. "Roger will you get out?" He begged.

"Oh hold him back, hold him back," Roger mocked. "Hold that Ed back before he does something really passionate. So out of character for the two of you. You must really get so tired, keeping those halos on straight."

"For the last time…" Ed pleaded, seeing Blake nearly in tears. Roger was ruining Samantha's party.

"Why do I make you so nervous?" Roger asked cooly.

"You don't get it, do you," Ed answered. "It's not just me. It's the whole town. You make us all nervous because nobody likes you. I know for years, you've been trying to join up here, but it's not going to work, Roger. You've never been accepted and you never will be."

Ed's speech brought Roger down a peg. He turned to the birthday girl saying, "Happy Birthday, Samantha," then turned to to take Jenna's hand to kiss it goodbye. He walked towards Blake, who had turned her back to him and shrugged him off when he tried to touch her shoulder. Ross stepped closer and Roger threw his hands up, becoming suspicious of Ross's latest knight in shining armor routine concerning his daughter.

Justin and Lillian arrived just in time to watch the event with Roger unfold. Justin watched, curiously, seeing his little brother speak briefly to Blake Thorpe after Roger had left. Blake nodded back and smiled, walked over to Ed to hug him, and then headed over to talk to Samantha.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Blake apologized for Roger's actions.

Samantha leaned it to give her a tight hug. "Blake, it's okay. You don't have anything to apologize for him. Trust me, there's probably about to be some family drama from mine, soon." Samantha pointed out Ross, looking somewhat shocked to see his big brother at the party.

"Oops," admitted Blake. "I never got the chance to tell Ross that Justin was coming."

"Neither did I," Samantha chimed in. "I hope it goes okay."

Blake turned back around towards Samantha. "So let's move on to a more exciting topic. The Ball?"

Samantha smiled widely, "Rick just called yesterday to make sure I was still going with him. It was so sweet. He's coming in the week before, for the race, too." She was practically giddy, which helped Blake put her Roger troubles in the back of her mind.

"That's great! I knew there was a spark between you two when we were in Chicago!" Blake had spoken to Rick earlier in the week and was happy that her matchmaking was working. She hugged Samantha and walked over to the food table to make sure everything was in order. Coincidentally, it was close to where Ross and Justin were conversing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ross spoke to Blake quickly, assured that she was okay. His eyes followed Roger to the entrance, just to make sure he left, and noticed his older brother standing there with Lillian Raines. He hadn't known Justin would be here. Last he'd heard, Justin was back in India.

Ross took a deep breath and approached the couple. "Justin! I didn't know you were coming! Lillian, great to see you again."

"Ross," Lillian greeted. "I hope everything is okay?"

"Everything's fine, now that Roger is gone." Ross leaned in to give Justin a hug, but Justin extended his hand out, resulting in an awkward handshake.

"I'm going to go visit with Maureen," Lilian dismissed herself.

"Those Thorpes, always causing trouble," Justin commented.

"Just Roger," Ross defended Blake.

"This time. So what's new with you, little brother? How's the campaign going?"

Ross was pleased that he had a significant accomplishment to boast to Justin about. "It's going very well. I'm up in the polls by a very large margin."

"I guess having the other candidate busted for drunk driving helps," Justin joked. "I don't see Holly here."

'Great,' thought Ross, 'Justin had moved on to needling him about his failed relationships.'

"I heard about the Daniel St John thing. Very disturbing. I never knew he was _that_ unhinged. I had hoped you would get over whatever it was and start seeing Holly again. You're not getting any younger. I don't think you can be so picky anymore, not if you want a woman by your side in Washington."

"No, Holly moved back to Switzerland," Ross answered, choosing to ignore the rest of Justin's rant.

"Too bad. Hmm," Justin wondered, seeing Samantha and Blake hug, before Blake walked off. "I didn't know those two were so close."

"Who?" Ross asked, following Justin's line of sight. "Oh, Blake and Sammy? Yes, they've struck up a friendship. They're both working at Cedars. Blake's head of PR and Sammy is in the legal department. I'm surprised that you weren't at Samantha's graduation from Law School."

"It's a busy time of year in India. I only got away now, because I'm a keynote speaker at a medical conference in New York next week."

Ross nodded. Justin always had an excuse.

Justin continued, "I really wish Sammy would find better friends. She doesn't need someone like Blake Thorpe influencing her."

"Blake has actually turned things around quite a bit in the past year," Ross defended. "She's in charge of the Cedar's fundraiser that's coming up."

"Hmph." Justin maintained, "A leopard never changes its spots. Phillip said she was involved in Alan-Michael going to jail recently?"

"No, she had no involvement in that," Ross protested. "It was all Alan-Michael's doing. He just confessed his crimes to Blake."

"Well you're quite her little defender these days, aren't you. A pretty tramp gets knocked up, by god knows who, and all the white knights in town come to her rescue?"

A loud clang interrupted Ross's retort, as he caught sight of Blake heading towards the pool area. She had apparently heard what Justin had to say and had tripped over a flower pot in her attempt to get away.

"That was uncalled for," Ross reprimanded Justin. "You're still the same old judgmental ass that left me to deal with Lanie and Mom after Dad died and you went off to school. Go spend some time with your daughter." Ross walked off, following Blake.

Blake had heard most of Justin's comments as she hovered near the food table, eavesdropping on Ross's conversation with his brother. She ran around the corner towards the pool, coming to a stop against the stone wall near the deserted pool bar.

Ross found her there, trying to contain her tears, but not succeeding. "Blake," he whispered, gathering her in his arms, "Don't listen to anything he has to say. Justin has always been a judgmental asshole. It's where Phillips gets it from," Ross joked, drawing out a slight giggle from Blake.

"It's not like he's wrong. I was a horrible person." Blake buried her head against his chest. "Sometimes I wonder if I still am. How long before I do something awful to you, like I did to Alan-Michael and Phillip?"

"Do you plan to?" Ross tipped her chin up, his eyes meeting hers.

"Well, no, but I never _plan_ to. Things just happen, and I make a bad decision that leads to other bad decisions or covering up the first bad thing that I did. And then it all just goes to hell and I don't know how I got myself in so deep," Blake admitted.

"The way I see it, you never had anyone to talk to about what was going on. A real friend. Someone to talk things through with. I want you to promise me that you will talk to someone before or even after you do something you think you shouldn't. It doesn't matter who. Me, Sammy, Sara, Ed. We all make mistakes, we just need to own up to them."

"Ross...I started flirting with you this summer to get back at my mom for telling Alan-Michael about calling immigration on Elanie. Our whole relationship started because I wanted ruin your relationship with Holly." Blake confessed.

"You think I didn't figure that out, already? A pretty young woman who used to hate me starts flirting," Ross smiled, encouraging her to go on. "Did you plan on me following you home the night of the Blackout?"

"I...well...no. Alan-Michael pissed me off and I just had to get out of there."

"Did you plan on _me_ kissing you? _Me_ following you into the bedroom?"

"No."

"Did you want me to kiss you? You asked me to, when I was about to leave. Was _that_ part of your plan to get back at Holly?"

"I wasn't even thinking about her at that point. I just wanted _you_. Wanted to make love to _you_. You were there, letting me talk. Giving me advice. Making me feel like I was worth _something_. You did that all summer. I couldn't figure out why you were being so nice to me. Caring about me, driving me home when I was drunk, even though I came on to you and insulted you, right out here, by the pool."

"I could see that you were hurting, that chasing after Alan-Michael had left you with zero self-esteem. I couldn't stand to see him constantly rejecting you and you just took it and went back for more. I could see that there was more to you. You have so much potential. You are so smart. I hated seeing you waste it, going after someone who didn't deserve you. I started looking past your mistakes and seeing the real Blake. I'm a big boy. I made my own decisions about you. You didn't trick me into your bed that night."

"Well, the real Blake is scared about what everyone will think when we go to the Ball together. You heard them, half of them think the baby is Alan-Michael's. The other half are going to think I got pregnant on purpose. Are they going to think I'm just trying to get my hooks into you since you're going to be a Senator?"

"I don't really care what they think. I could wax poetic about all the reasons that I love you, but they are going to think what they want. We know the truth of what's between us and that's all that matters." Somebody at the party had turned up the music as a slow song came on. "Now, dance with me."

"Here?" Blake asked, unsure.

"Yes, here. I believe this is the place you first kissed me?" Ross smiled.

"Ross, somebody's going to see us." Blake tried to slip out of his arms.

"Let them," Ross told her, refusing to let her go, pulling her into a slow dance out by the moonlit pool.

_I know just how to whisper,_

_and I know just how to cry;_

_I know just where to find the answers;_

_and I know just how to lie._

_I know just how to fake it,_

_and I know just how to scheme;_

_I know just when to face the truth,_

_and then I know just when to dream._

_And I know just where to touch you,_

_and I know just what to prove;_

_I know when to pull you closer,_

_and I know when to let you loose._

_And I know the night is fading,_

_and I know that time's gonna fly;_

_and I'm never gonna tell you everything_

_I've got to tell you,_

_but I know I've got to give it a try._

_And I know the roads to riches,_

_and I know the ways to fame;_

_I know all the rules_

_and then I know how to break 'em_

_and I always know the name of the game._

_But I don't know how to leave you,_

_and I'll never let you fall;_

_and I don't know how you do it,_

_making love out of nothing at all_

Neither of them saw Vanessa hovering around the corner, watching them. She'd seen Blake dart towards the pool and Ross following. She wasn't quite sure what she'd seen at the hospital, but now she knew. Ross was involved with Blake Thorpe and Vanessa wasn't about to let it affect Ross's campaign for the Senate.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After their dance, Blake left to fix her make-up, feeling slightly better and Ross went back to the party. Vanessa followed Blake towards the ladies' room. When she entered, Vanessa saw Blake touching up her lipstick and fixing her mascara.

"Blake," she greeted her.

"Vanessa," Blake greeted back.

"It's such a nice party. Samantha told me you planned most of it?"

Blake nodded.

"I didn't know you and Samantha had become such close friends," Vanessa seemed surprised.

"Yes, well, she works down the hall from me and we started having lunch together," Blake explained. "She's such a sweet girl. Had no plans for her birthday and I thought she should have a party. Especially with her father visiting."

"That's nice," Vanessa commented. "Look, Blake, I have a sort of favor to ask you. It really has to do with Spaulding business."

"I told you, Vanessa," protested Blake. "I don't want to be involved beyond the board meetings."

"Well, it's a bit of a personal favor, really," Vanessa drawled. "You may have noticed that daddy brought Jenna Bradshaw to the party?"

"Uh huh," Blake nodded, wondering what Vanessa a getting at.

"Well, you mentioned that Roger might be planning something, involving Jenna and Spaulding?"

"Yeah," Blake replied, seeing where Vanessa was headed with this favor.

"I thought, maybe you could find out more about what Roger is up to?" Vanessa started to tear up. "I'm really worried about daddy. I don't want him to get too deeply into something that he can't get out of."

Blake tried to find an out. "You may have noticed that I'm not doing much talking with Roger these days."

"Oh, but he wants to talk to you. Perhaps you could just do some digging and find out what he's up to?" Vanessa tried to persuade her.

"You mean spy on him for you?" Blake closed her eyes, sighing.

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way, but, yes."

"Vanessa, I'm not sure…"

"Well, I know you don't want Roger to know about how much stock you now control at Spaulding. I would hate for him to find out. Oh and let's just keep this between us, no need for anyone else to know about it."

Vanessa snapped her handbag closed and left the ladies' room and Blake sagged against the countertop. This is how it always started. A little favor, a little blackmail, the little lies. She knew Ross would have a very big problem with her cozying up to Roger to spy for Vanessa, but she couldn't let Vanessa tell Roger about the stock. Roger would use her up and toss her aside, like always.

_To be continued..._


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

_WSPR Studio_

_Monday, September 21, 1992_

Blake took a deep breath, before the doors to the elevator opened up on the WSPR offices. She was going to do some information gathering for Vanessa and hoped that would be enough. The room was busy, as the morning news program had just finished. Blake glanced over to Holly's old office, seeing Gilly Grant-Speaks making herself comfortable, talking to Nick.

She headed towards Roger's office, plastering a smile on her face. "Dad?" Blake knocked on the door.

"Chrissy!" Roger's face lit up. "I was hoping you'd come by, eventually. Ed interrupted our conversation the other night." Roger moved to hug her and Blake allowed him.

"I'm sorry. I just wasn't in the mood to have _that _conversation in public," Blake apologized.

"No, I'm sorry, sweetie. I was just surprised to find out the rumors were true. Why didn't you tell me you were going to have a baby?"

Blake shrugged, "I wasn't sure how to tell you. Not every parent is excited to see their unmarried child pregnant and alone. Mom almost blew a gasket."

"Oh, honey. You know I'll always be there for you. Who is the father? You were seeing someone recently. Is it him?" Roger rattled on, not giving her a chance to answer. "Did he leave you because you were pregnant? I'll kill him. Is it Alan-Michael? I know him going to jail wasn't part of our plan, but if your having his baby..."

"Dad, stop! It's not Alan-Michael's, but I don't want to talk about the baby's father. It doesn't matter. I'm planning on doing this on my own. My decision," she lied.

"Okay, Chrissy. I hope you know I will help in any way I can," Roger answered kindly.

"That's why I came here. You said something, before," Blake spoke, wanting to show Roger she was interested, but not wanting to come on too strong and have him be suspicious. "You had a plan, for Spaulding, now that Alan-Michael is in jail? It involved Jenna? I want to help, if you'll let me."

"Oh, honey! This is wonderful," Roger proclaimed, happy to have his daughter involved.

Blake inwardly cringed at Roger's happiness to have her back scheming with him again. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, it appears that our dear Henry Chamberlain was a bad boy once again," Roger gossiped.

Blake appeared interested, "Tell me more."

"I have evidence that Henry had an affair with Jenna's mother. She is quite possibly his _daughter_. I think Henry suspects as much. And Jenna seems to have a bit of a fascination with me," Roger explained, proud as a peacock.

Blake inferred what Roger's plan was, but spoke it aloud, just to be sure. "So you're going to get Jenna to marry you and get access to the Chamberlain's money? Do you think Henry's going to let you anywhere near it, after...last time? Alexandra was pretty generous giving them back everything you..._won_...from Henry in the poker game." Blake shuddered to herself, wondering what she was getting herself into and how she would explain it to Ross.

"If I can get Jenna to marry me _before _she finds out about Henry being her father, it should all fall into place very nicely," Roger folded his hand maniacally.

"How can I help?" She asked, knowing she was about to dig her own grave.

"Well, now that Alan-Michael is gone, perhaps you can see about getting your job back at Spaulding? It might help to have some eyes and ears on the situation."

"Dad, I like what I'm doing at Cedars. I told you that. Besides, do you really think Vanessa would hire me?"

"Honey, you're doing a great job with the fundraiser, making a name for yourself! A little birdie told me that Vanessa is looking for someone to run the Spaulding Foundation. That might be right up your alley," Roger suggested.

"I'll think about it," Blake hedged.

"Good, how would you like to be my lunch date today?" Roger got up excitedly. "The Towers?"

"Um, sure, but it will have to be quick. I have a lot going on, since the Race is on Saturday."

"Great!" Roger extended his arm and she took it as he lead her out the door. As they passed through the newsroom on the way to the elevator, Blake noticed Ross speaking to Gilly. He must have had an interview this morning. She hoped to pass by without him noticing, but Roger had seen him and decided to bait him.

"Marler! I see you're up in the polls. Better be careful, though. One little _scandal_ could blow that lead right out of the water."

Blake felt her heart jump in her throat and begged Ross with her eyes, not to listen to Roger. She hadn't told Ross about Vanessa's request, so she knew he'd be wondering why she was here, talking to Roger.

"Roger," Ross responding, not rising to his bait. "I'm not sure there's much I can do, short of murder, to not be able to beat Leo Flynn. Even then, it just might depend on _who _I murder."

"Better not let the press hear you say that. Well, I'm off to have lunch with my daughter." Roger pulled Blake towards the elevators and Ross stared after them, wondering what Blake was up to.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Ross's Office_

_Monday, September 21, 1992_

"Okay," Blake started before Ross could speak, slamming the door closed. "I was doing a favor for Vanessa. She's worried about Henry. It looks like _Jenna _might be Henry's _daughter_. Roger's planning on marrying Jenna to get his hands on the Chamberlain money."

Ross stood speechless, watching Blake pace back and forth in his office, spilling her secrets. She stopped pacing and looked up at him, hoping he meant what he said about her telling him when she had done something stupid.

He finally spoke, "And you're doing _Vanessa _a favor because you're such great friends?"

"She said she'd tell Roger about the Spaulding stock if I didn't," Blake blurted, slapping her hand on her mouth, as the information escaped her, without intention. "You're like a truth serum or something. I can't...I don't want to lie to you."

Ross pulled her closer, hugging her. "I glad. I just wish you had said something before you went to speak to Roger."

"I think it will be alright, though. I know his plan and the only thing he wanted was for me to try to get my job back at Spaulding. I told him I liked my job at Cedars. That should hold him off."

"Well see," Ross doubted. "It's Roger, after all."

"Okay. I'll be carefull. I've got to go, lots to do before Saturday," Blake kissed him goodbye.

"Mmmm," Ross pulled her in for a few more kisses. "Will I see you at home later?"

"Home?" Blake inquired. They'd been spending more time at his house lately, but moving in together hadn't been discussed. The upcoming election would change things. Though, that too, had not been discussed. The elephant in the room. What _would _happen when Ross became Senator?

"My home, your home, I don't care which. I missed you." Justin had stayed the weekend at Ross's house, preventing them from being together.

"Yours, then. Though I do need to grab some more clothes from my house, and Blackout. He gets lonely."

"Why don't you just grab all of them," Ross suggested.

Blake raised her eyebrow. "Did you just…"

"I seem to have," Ross replied, surprised at how easy it was and how happy it made him to think about it. "Will you move in with me?"

Blake yelped and jumped into his arms, kissing him.

"I take that as a yes," Ross spoke as she finally pulled away.

Blake grinned back at him, "Yes!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Blake's Office, Cedars Hospital_

_Wednesday, September 23, 1992_

Blake and Samantha sat in her office eating lunch. Blake was pulling together some of the last minute details for Saturday's race and bouncing her thoughts off of Samantha, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"Blake," Samantha spoke. "I think you've got everything covered. It's going to be fine!"

"I just don't want to screw this up," Blake confided, taking a bite of her chicken lo mein.

"You won't," Samantha reassured her.

"Oh, will you come with me to the mall after work? I didn't realize that my running clothes wouldn't fit. They're stretchy, but not that much." Blake patted her belly, not believing how much she was showing for being almost fourteen weeks. "If I hadn't seen the ultrasound, I'd suspect twins!" Blake joked. She had no idea how Alan-Michael ever believed that she was pregnant, before, with such a flat stomach.

"You're not planning on running?" Samantha questioned. "Can you even do that?"

"I could run, though a 10k would be a bit too much. I'm not participating, but I want to look the part. Besides, it will be far more comfortable than business attire!"

"Okay, I can make time. But I need to stop by my apartment first. The sink was leaking this morning and the super was supposed to fix it. I want to make sure he did. I really miss Dad's old apartment at the Towers. Everything was new. Nothing broken."

"I have an idea. Why don't you move into my house?" Blake asked. "I have no idea when Holly's coming back, if ever."

"Oh, I don't want to intrude. Besides, it would be a little weird if Uncle Ross stays over. It's why I told him I didn't want to move back in with him after law school."

"Well, you wouldn't be intruding. You can have the whole house to yourself, because Ross asked me to move in with him!"

Samantha squealed, hugging Blake. "That's so great!"

"So you'll move into the house?" Blake asked.

"Sure. I'll be glad to get out of that awful apartment."

"Perfect!" Blake and Samantha clinked their water glasses together in a toast, giggling.

"Oh, hello dears," Henry Chamberlain poked his head in the door. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I wanted to speak to Blake."

"No problem," Samantha answered, scooting out the door. "I have to get back to work."

"Henry, what can I do for you? Was there some question about the fundraiser?" Blake pulled out a chair for Henry to sit down.

"Oh, no, nothing to do with the fundraiser," Henry sighed.

"Oh?" Blake asked, wondering if this had anything to do with Jenna and Roger.

"Well, you see, I have a bit of a problem, and I think you might be the only one to help me out. You have a...a _certain _way of thinking about things," he spoke, trying not to offend her.

"Is this problem named Jenna Bradshaw?"

"Why, yes, how did you...No, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're always ahead of the game."

Blake wasn't sure that was a compliment. "So how can I help you?"

"Well, I'm in a bit of a bind. It's really Spaulding business. I would have gone to Alan-Michael if he weren't...away."

"Henry, you can trust me. I do want what's best for Spaulding. I told Alan-Michael I would keep an eye on things. And trust me, I have no intention of letting Roger get his hands on the company again," Blake promised.

Henry began his story. "Years ago, I made...Brandon and I made a big mistake. We cheated a young man out of his rights to an invention. An invention that made Spaulding billions. Oh there was legal paperwork, but it was a dirty deal."

"And how does this involve Jenna?"

"The man was Jenna's father. We paid him for the invention, but not anywhere near what was worth, and the paperwork has been lost to time. The man died in prison shortly afterwards."

"Wow."

Henry looked worried. "I'm afraid that if Jenna finds out...if Roger gets his hooks into her, the whole company could be at stake."

"I can imagine. So you're playing at convincing Jenna that she's your daughter?"

"How did you know?"

"Roger already believes it. Vanessa asked me to look into it."

"Well, now you see my problem."

"And you want _my_ advice?" Blake was a little surprised Henry had come to her.

Henry nodded. "Like I said, you have a certain way of looking at things."

Blake took a breath, knowing Henry probably wouldn't like the advice she had to give. "Priority number one is to find the paperwork. Prove that you paid him for the invention, legally, just in case. Priority two, convince Jenna that you are her father, never let her find out about this guy."

"And what about Roger?" Henry asked.

"Well, he's convinced that you're Jenna's father. He may not look beyond that. His plan is to marry her to access the Chamberlain money. Give Jenna access to money, but not too much. She's a small time jewel thief. She may just be satisfied with a nice trust fund and life on easy street. Make it legal. Get your will changed to make sure she doesn't get much, to protect Vanessa, Quinton, and the grandchildren. I wouldn't try to keep her and Roger apart though. He'll see something is up and go digging. He'll lose interest fast enough when he realizes she has no access or interest in the real money.

"And you think this will work?"

"Can't guarantee anything. Roger can be like a dog with a bone. You've got to convince Jenna. Paternity tests can be faked, but she'll know something's up if you can't tell her about your relationship with her mother. If you need to, make it out to be a quick affair. A one time thing. She'll never expect you to know or remember intimate details of her mother. Don't make it romantic. You might seem like a jerk, but it will save your butt in the long run."

"I suppose your idea is better than mine," Henry sighed. "Thank you, my dear."

"Good luck." He'd need it if he was going up against Roger.

_To Be Continued..._


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

_Springfield Park_

_Saturday, September 26, 1992_

"Blake!" Michelle ran up and hugged her big sister as she came into the registration tent.

"Michelle, how's my favorite little sister?" Blake smiled wide at Michelle's energy. She was practically jumping up and down.

"Great! I'm so excited for our girls' day next week!" Michelle gushed.

Blake laughed, "Me too, we're going to get manicures and pedicures and get our hair done!"

"I just wish I could go to the Ball, too," Michelle spoke a little sadly.

Blake hugged Michelle again. "Trust me, there will be plenty of dances and plenty prices for you to go with when you're grown up. Don't be in such a rush!"

Ed came over and handed Michelle a racing bib number, "Here, you go. All registered, sweetie."

"You're running in the 10K?" Blake asked Michelle, surprised.

"Yup, no kiddie race for me. I'm trying out for the school's track team in the Spring! Dad's been my running partner."

"You're running, too? Don't keel over and die on me," Blake joked.

"Not a chance." Ed leaned over and pecked Blake on the cheek.

Vanessa and Maureen were standing behind them, talking. "So, are you ready for the Ball next week?" Vanessa asked Maureen.

"Yes, I'm excited. A night out, a babysitter!" Maureen laughed.

"Is Bridget babysitting? Fletcher and I were debating about leaving Ben and Bill home without a sitter. They're twelve now, they think they're too old to be babysat," Vanessa worried. "I just don't know, though. It might be asking for trouble."

"Yes, Bridget is babysitting. Michelle doesn't think of her like a typical babysitter, so it works. Why don't you just bring the boys over, too. I'm sure Bridget wouldn't mind the extra cash," Maureen suggested.

Vanessa lit up, "That sounds like a good solution to our problem. I'll talk it over with Fletcher."

"Great. Blake is spending the day with Michelle, since I have a meeting in Clayton, and Ed is working until six. Bridget has a study group and is supposed to be back by 5:30, so Blake can leave. You can bring the boys over before you leave for the Ball."

"Okay. Oh, look, there's Fletcher. I'd better catch him, before the race starts." Vanessa took off to the other side of the tent.

Just then, Rick's voice boomed across the tent, "I knew I'd find some Bauers in here!"

"Rick!" screamed Michelle as she ran up to hug him. "I didn't know you were coming?"

"Surprise, little sis! I'm staying for the next two weeks," Rick smiled as he brought Michelle back over to Ed, Blake, and Maureen.

"Dad," Rick greeted Ed with a hug.

"Son, I'm glad you could make it," Ed replied. It had taken a lot to heal their damaged relationship after Rick's involvement with Phillip's faked death.

"Maureen, always good to see you! You look great." Rick kissed her on the cheek.

"Blake! Look at you! You sure it's not twins?" he joked.

Blake slapped him playfully, "Bite your tongue."

Rick leaned in to hug her, whispering, "Good to see you again, little sis," not sure if she had told anybody about Ed, yet.

"Where's Samantha?" Rick looked around. "I told her I'd meet her at the registration tent."

"Umm, not sure. Ross was going to pick her up, so she wouldn't have to find parking." Blake glance around and spotted Ross and Samantha coming towards them with Harley and Mallet coming up behind. Harley had convinced Mallet to join the race and she and Samantha promised to take turns pushing his wheelchair when he got tired.

"There they are," Blake pointed out.

Suddenly a stream of dark blonde hair, attached to an attractive woman came out of nowhere and launched herself at Ross. "Ross!" shrieked the woman and Ross hugged her back, preventing them both from falling over.

Blake was confused for a moment, wondering who this woman was who'd clung to her man, when Samantha yelled out, "Lainie!"

"Sammy! It's so good to see you. I can't believe how grown up you are!" She let go of Ross and hugged Samantha. "And look at you big brother, going gray!" She ruffled his hair.

"Lainie!" Ross greeted her, pulling her hand off of his head. "What are you doing here?"

"What! You're not glad to see me. I'm hurt." Lainie fake pouted.

"Of course I'm glad you're here. Why didn't you say you were coming?"

"And miss the surprised look on your face? No way!"

Ross informed her, "You missed Justin. He was in town last week."

"I know. That's why I'm here this week!" Lainie jested. "Anyway, I'm here to stay," she announced.

"For good? What about Australia?" Ross asked.

"The kidlet is off to college and I'm off the hook from Carter. He can't make me stay in the country anymore for our custody agreement now that Emily is 18," Lainie declared happily.

"So you're moving back?"

"Yup, just accepted a job at Spaulding!"

"Congratulations!" Ross hugged her again.

"Welcome home, Lainie," Samantha chimed in.

"Yes, welcome back!" Ed added.

Lainie turned around, recognizing the voice and smiled. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Dr. Ed Bauer. You haven't changed a bit!" she flirted.

"No, just a couple of gray hairs and two grown children!" Ed put his arm around Maureen, introducing her, "This is my wife, Maureen, and our daughter Michelle."

"Nice to meet you," Lainie shook Maureen's hand, slightly disappointed that Dr. Ed wasn't single.

Ed turned to Rick and Blake. "And you must remember Freddy and Christina, though they apparently didn't like the names their dear old Dad gave them. Freddy goes by Rick and Christina goes by Blake."

"Oh, my, you two have grown up! Chrissy, I'm sorry, Blake, you must have been 5 or 6 the last time I saw you, and now you're having a baby," Lainie pointed to Blake's stomach. "You make me feel so old, I used to babysit you!"

Blake saw Ross cringe a bit. He hated to be reminded of their age difference and now hearing his _little_ sister talk about how she used to babysit the mother of his child was throwing him off.

Rick interrupted the awkward moment, that Lainie didn't seem to realize had happened. "Okay, so we should get this show on the road. Everyone have their bib numbers? Blake what time does the race start?"

Blake glanced at her watch. "Ten minutes to start time." She glanced up and noticed Ross struggling to pin his bib number to his shirt. "Can't even get your number pinned on? Sure you're not too _old_ to run a 10K?" She ribbed him, leaning in to pin the number to his chest.

"I'll have you know I'm in the prime of my life!" Ross protested.

"Umm, hmm, don't come crawling to me when you throw your back out." She patted his chest as she finished getting the number on straight.

Samantha turned to bring Harley and Mallet into the conversation, hope to draw attention away from Ross and Blake's obvious flirting. "Now Mallet, I don't want you being stubborn. Let Harley and me push you if you need to rest. I got out of my wheelchair and so will you, but you've got to rely on your friends to help you out once in awhile. I learned that the hard way."

"Hey, I'll help too," Lainie chimed in. "I was hit by a car and paralyzed when I was younger. It took a long time for me to learn how to walk again. But I had people pushing me to not give up," Lainie smiled at Ed.

"Okay, it's race time people," Blake announced. "Better get up to the starting line."

"I'm going to be beat all of you," bragged Michelle.

As the group made their way towards the starting line, Lainie leaned in to whisper to Ross, "Robbing the cradle, big brother?" She nodded at Blake. Ross looked flustered. "Congratulations," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek, letting him know she was okay with it.

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
